The Legend of Zelda: Link's Shadow
by SGarrison
Summary: The hero will always come. Even if it means bringing doom upon his own home, Hyrule. Warning: Some bloody/scary scenes.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

**PRELUDE**

**Virus  
**

Hyrule.

It is surely the greatest and most expansive kingdom in the light world. It also houses a special, sought after power. A power so great, that wielding it, means you wield the fate of the universe.

For greedy men, this is a dream come true. That is why the Goddesses made a hero. Similar beings that would (over time) protect the sacred plains of Hyrule. He would be courageous when the world cowered in fear. He would have the strength to change destiny, whereas others would sit back and let come what may. And he would be wise beyond his years, able to know what to do to save the land.

But...

...what if the hero was housing something? Something so terrible - so evil - that merely living, was destroying his homeland? How could he protect the land, when manipulated by a dark force? Could Hyrule possibly survive?

Link heaved, loading the final crate onto the back of a covered wagon. He was a boy of medium height, with blond hair that almost took on an orange hue. His eyes were a bright, innocent blue. And his build was wiry and athletic. He did a lot of chores in his village of Kakkiriko.

A tall, slightly overweight merchant thanked him before climbing into the front seat of the wagon. Link waved to him as he drove off, leaving the village to Lon Lon City. Although called 'city', Lon Lon was just a little ranch town. The merchant was going to sell his wares there. Link was helping him load up his wagon.

The boy of fourteen waited until the wagon was gone, and then closed the village gate. He locked it up, and turned around. The sun was setting, turning the western sky beyond the village a rich, golden color. Link watched it, becoming drowsy.

Such a beautiful sunset...

* * *

**A/N: **Well, I'm redoing the first few chapters, and going through and correcting errors in later chapters. Man, I had no idea how sloppy and rushed my first chapters were. And don't worry if you think you might prefer the original chapters - these will be a lot better.

So, I would appreciate any reviews. Please tell me how well my story is written. If it's awful, tell me why so I can learn to better myself. Critique it though, not criticize.

-Sam


	2. The Beginning of the End

**The Beginning of the End**

Link found himself in Hyrule Field, the plains stretching on forever. Behind him, Kakkiriko Village was gone. He was just out in the open, vulnerable to all manners of thieves, monsters, and worse fates.

So why was he here? He walked aimlessly amidst tall grass. He looked up at the lovely purple sky, that glittered like it was made up of a million jewels reflecting light. The grass around him was a bright orange, that contrasted sharply with the purple sky.

"So, you're just going to kill everyone?" a strange, eerie voice asked him.

Link snapped his head around in response, to see a shapeless, dark blob. Two piercing red eyes took up most of it's form, although a mouth was nowhere to be seen.

"I didn't say anything about killing anyone..." Link said.

"Oh yeah? I can read your mind. The children must die. That's what you're saying! And I'm wondering: how can you think of such a thing? Hee!" it said, playing games with him.

"What? Seriously, I'm not thinking of killing anyone! Why would I want to?" Link snapped, becoming annoyed.

The blob grew a mouth that smiled, "Well, actually, it is a pretty good idea. I change my mind, go on and kill everyone!" it said, grinning now.

"That's it! Just shut up! I don't want to kill anyone! I'm not even armed!" Link cried.

The creature's grin was so big, it now circled it's eyes. A whole circle of sharp teeth, "Come on! Just do it! Besides, it looks as if you are already armed!" it said, laughing.

Link realized he was holding a sword. He let out a gasp, looking down at it.

"Oh my gosh!" the thing exclaimed, "You've already started the slaughter!"

Link looked back up, opening his mouth to tell of the strange blob. But he never got a chance. The words left him. He was now staring at a bloody heap of bodies, all with slash and stab marks covering them. Link recognized them as the village kids.

"No! Guys, NO!" Link cried.

A wagon raced past Link, being pulled by a black horse with demonic red eyes. The merchant from earlier drove it, except his head was now a writhing mass of human flesh, blood, and brains that looked like it had been ground up in a mill.

"Oh, Din, NO!" Link screamed.

And then he woke up. Oh thank goodness! Just a bad dream!

He was itching in several places. After scratching a few of them, Link realized he had been bit by mosquitoes several times. Mosquitoes? How had...

That's right! He fell asleep watching the sunset! Oh, how stupid of him. He stood up, and shook himself off, scratching his neck. The itching was going to get on his nerves, cer-

"_Link!_" he heard a young boy cry.

His head snapped around to see a boy about two years younger than him sprinting forward holding a small, rusty knife. He was kind of skinny, with bony arms but muscular legs. He obviously had just woken up, and was quite alarmed.

The kid stopped right in front of him, "Are you _okay_? Were you attacked?"

Link shook his head before replying meekly, "No."

"Oh, then why did you scream?" the kid asked, still somewhat alarmed.

Link thought for a moment," Since when did I _scream_?" he mumbled.

"Just now! I heard you scream 'noo!' or something!" the kid replied.

Link shook his head, "Just a nightmare." He had just starting walking towards his house when the kid jumped out in front of him.

"Then why were you on the ground?" he exclaimed.

Link breathed a heavy sigh, shaking his head, "Look I... got tired and just... fell asleep. Crap, it's not such a big deal!" he snapped, becoming annoyed.

"Well, it's a big deal to me! I woke up thinking you were being mauled or something! And I was having a good dream, too! Cripes..." he muttered, obviously ticked off.

"Well... sorry," Link said unsure.

The kid took a deep breath, thought it over, and at once his facial expression changed.

_Dang it... _Link thought, realizing what had just happened.

The boy's name was Henry. He was infamous in the village for hearing a story and twisting it out of proportion. He was now chuckling, walking off towards his house, bad ideas formulating in his mind.

Link tried to call out, "Hen... oh never mind. The other guys probably won't think to much of it," he said to himself, walking off to his own house.

Link sighed. If he was lucky, he had about forty-five minutes left to sleep if he hurried. Although the nightmare had been bad, he was tired. Everyone would soon start waking up for chores, granted they hadn't already woken up because of Link's yelling.

He came to a wooden ladder. He climbed to the top, where there was a slim, two-story home with a few fenced-in cows and a small, square garden on a grassy mesa-like formation of land on the side of the base of a great mountain. He opened and closed the front door quietly, entering into a living room. There was a small fire, mostly just smoldering embers, in the fireplace. Link's mom was fast asleep on a chair in front of the dying fire.

He crept past her to a flight of wooden stairs. He slowly made his way up, making sure they didn't creak to much. He went to the first door, and opened it. He closed it, finding himself in his room. Managing to take off his boots, Link jumped on his bed. He was out before he knew it.


	3. Live the Dream?

**Live the Dream?**

Hyrule once existed as a shapeless, chaotic, mass of existence.

Three golden goddesses descended on it. Three sisters, who wanted Hyrule to exist as a peaceful place. A beautiful place.

Din, a goddess of power, molded the land, and gave it shape. She carved the valleys, dug out the canyons, wrinkled the plains to make hills, and she crafted the mountains.

Nayru, a goddess of wisdom, made the water and the laws of the land.

And finally, Farore, a goddess of life, made the plants and the creatures that would uphold Nayru's law.

Their work finally completed, and a beautiful planet the result, they then left the land of Hyrule. They left the living world into the next, leaving behind a sacred relic between the two realms.

This was the Triforce.

As the first years were going by, all life lived in harmony with each other. No war. No violence. But this could not stay this way for forever. Greedy creatures sought after the golden power. Some fought them to try and protect the Sacred Realm. Others, fought just to reach the power first.

Finally, protectors of the golden power established a dominion over the Sacred Realm. The rulers vowed to protect it with their life. They made allies with other creatures in the surrounding area after much bloodshed. It seemed that the wars were finally coming to a close.

Except for the Gerudos.

They were a cursed bunch, that used to be Hylian. They were the worst of the thieves and murderers. Their land was cursed, and turned to a scorching hot, arid dessert. Their children were all female, except for one. And that was going to be how it worked for the rest of time. Several females, and one male every one hundred years.

A man, years later, rose up from the dessert and waged war on the land. It was a war so violent, the manner of fighting had not been seen in centuries. The Hylians prevailed, and kept the golden power safe.

But there was one family caught up in the war. A family of three. An infant boy, a worried mother, and a father who was a soldier going off to fight in the great war.

The father of said family had to fight in the war, and the mother with the newborn child fled to the forest. She ran into trouble along the way, and was mortally wounded. She and her baby managed to escape with their lives. The mother brought the boy to the guardian of the forest, the Great Deku Tree.

The mother died at the guardian's roots.

The child grew there in the forest, unaware of his dead parents, unaware of life outside the forest. Unaware of the man.

But about the time the man rose to power again, when the boy was ten, the man made arrangements for a solid treaty with Hyrule. At the same time he sought three spiritual stones that could have given him access to the golden power.

One lay in the forest, with the boy's protector, The Great Deku Tree. The man cursed the tree. Willingly, the boy tried to save the tree, only for it to die after the boy retrieved the first stone. He left the forest and came to the princess of Hyrule.

Determined to save the land, he helped her, but only gave the man access to the power. And the power was supposed to wake up seven minutes ago!

"Wake up, Link! You were supposed to be up seven minutes ago!" Link awoke to find his father saying.

Link shook his head and groaned. He sat up in near daze. That dream had felt so real, as if it were telling a story. Was it? Or, no, it probably was not. Just another weird dream. Nothing to worry about, right?

"C'mon, get up. Get a bucket of water from the well. Your mother's cooking breakfast. If you don't get the water, you don't eat," his father said, rubbing the youth's head before walking away.

Link sat up slowly, rubbing his tired eyes. Such an interesting story! How would his subconscious come up with something so in depth - well; for a mind of course. He stretched his legs and hopped out of bed. He hurried over to his boots and slipped his feet into them. He strapped the top up so they were secure.

He left his room and climbed down into the main room. He grabbed a rickety wooden bucket that was hanging by a nail on the wall, and stepped into the kitchen, where his mom was cooking. He absorbed the sweet scent of frying cuckoo and then left his house. A few people were already outside tending to chores or waking up early.

Actually, now that Link thought of it, the story was similar to the story of Hyrule's creation. But what of the mysterious child growing up in the forest, or that tree... and there was also something about a man from the dessert. Yes, how did his mind come up with all of that?

Two weird dreams in a row. Rotten luck.

Link climbed down the ladder and started walking calmly to the well, bucket dangling at his side. The birds were chirping peacefully, and there was a slight morning breeze. This calmness was suddenly interrupted rather abruptly.

A few kids from Link's village (probably sent by Henry) ran up to him grinning.

"You screamed?" one blurted out as he came to a halt.

"Man, what spooked you so bad?" the youngest questioned with wide-eyes.

"Yeah!" Another exclaimed.

"Uh, what?" Link asked, raising a brow.

"Yeah! Henry told us you had a bad dream and screamed! To top it all off you fell asleep watching the sunset! Man, what were you thinking?" a boy about a year younger than Link said. He had brown hair and green eyes, and went by the name of Joseph.

"Well, stuff happens, guys. I'm honestly surprised that you are freaking out so much," Link mumbled.

The youngest one giggled, "Uh, boy's don't fall asleep watching the sunset. And, they ain't supposed to wake up screamin' either," he said, as if Link could help the screaming part.

Link turned his attention to the youngest one, "Drew, like you should talk. You're seven. So shut up." Link said with finality in his voice.

Drew's face dimmed like a light bulb, and Link could tell he wouldn't be doing anymore talking.

Joseph scoffed, "Jeez, calm down."

Another kid that had been silent piped up, "Yeah, way to blow up on a seven-year-old. Yeah, real tough guy!" he said, turning and walking off.

Two other kids followed him, and Joseph lagged behind, giving Link a dagger-eyed glare before following his friends. Drew took a minute to realize everyone had left. He glanced left and right and then fled.

Link stared, frowning, as the small group retreated. He turned and put the wire handle of his bucket on a hook, and then spun a crank that lowered it into the water. He pulled it back up with fresh, blue water.

Link now walked around the village, looking for something to do. He wasn't bored often, but then again, he usually had a whole group of neighborhood kids to play around. And Will, one of his better friends. That's right - Will! Maybe if he just hung around him, the guys wouldn't act like such jerks!

He turned to their group, huddled together, chatting excitedly. Joseph was telling them something, pointing at Drew. Link knew at once they were reciting what had happened by the well, probably exaggerating some. Some of the kids laughed.

Link sighed and headed towards them on Will's side. He hadn't seen Will laughing, yet.

"What's going on?" he asked, trying to sound friendly, forcing a smile.

"Not much." Will - the oldest - said, not even turning his head to look at him. He had the same jet black hair, that was straight and long in the front, and short in the back. He was tall and somewhat muscular, and the oldest of all the boys in Kakkiriko. His green eyes shimmered, like they had been brought close to tears. _From laughing so hard._ The kids abruptly ceased talking together. They just sat there in an odd silence. Link stood still, not knowing what to say next. Pretty soon, all the boys were looking at him.

"What?" Link asked them, confused.

"Link, uh, can you go away for a minute?" Joseph said.

"Yeah, we're... talking about stuff that doesn't interest you." another one said.

Link immediately felt hurt, knowing all too well they were covering up the fact that they were gossiping about him. For a moment he was sad, dumbstruck. The ground seemed to sway beneath him. It was like some odd dream. Then sadness moved to anger. He clenched his fists and frowned repulsively at them," You're talking about me, aren't you?" he asked, trying to sound calm.

"No," Will replied, moving out of the crowd of boys and putting his arm around Link, "Listen, man, we're talking about stuff that doesn't interest you. Why would we talk about you? Especially when you're our friend? You know I'd never do something like that!"

Link shivered at the word 'friend'. He could see behind it all, "Listen, Link, you come back in a minute and me and you can go do stuff, alright?"

Link shook his head," Whatever. I..." he searched himself, "I don't wanna hear it."

"C'mon, believe me!" Will pleaded again, clearly trying to make Link feel better, even though he had been talking about him.

"Fine, I do." Link lied through clenched teeth.

The older boy smiled and nodded, before walking off with his friends. Almost instantly their conversation sprang up again.

Link spat at the ground as he stormed off towards his house. He heard laughter.

_Doesn't interest me? Bull shit!_

_

* * *

_**A/N: **Good thing I corrected this chapter. This one was one of the worst.

So, how's the story? I'm trying hard to make it flow good, but it's tricky. Especially since the village kids are making fun of Link over something not so big. Then again, I guess that's part of Link's frustration.

-Sam


	4. Sick: Part 1

**Sick: Part 1**_**  
**_

That night after dinner, Link stormed into his room. Slamming the door, he threw himself on his bed. Why did his friends do that? Lie to him?

His teeth were pressed against each other, his hands clasped to the side of the bed. He was making sure he didn't attack anything.

Link's mind was a mess. He had never felt so alien. He was an outcast. And the village, being so small, only had a few kids to be friends with. And now, after something so simple, they all hated Link.

And he hated them.

"Go away, Link!" Drew shouted the next day.

"Guys," Link pleaded, "can't we just forget about this?"

"Can you just... leave?" said Will with a sigh.

"Yeah, we're talking." said another boy.

"Guys..." Link said sadly.

"Just shut up!" Joseph exclaimed exasperatedly.

"No, you shut up!" Link roared.

He ran back to his house furiously and grabbed his fathers sword. He ran back to the boys who were laughing and talking.

"Yeah, I bet he's cry-" "-Die!" Link screamed, interrupting the oldest. He knocked the boy over and raised the sword up over his head.  
"P-please..." the boy begged.

Link brought the sword down on the boys head. Hearing the boys blood-curdling scream, he turned to another boy. The kids eyes widened as he started to back away from Link.

Link stormed over to him and hacked at him madly with his sword. Feeling the blade make impact several times and hearing the boy scream, he stopped.

He heard a laugh in his ears. Everything turned to a red blur for a moment.

He turned to the other boys. His skin looked burnt, his eyes were red, and he wore a black tunic." Die!"

"-DIE! DIE! DIE!" Link awoke to find himself yelling. He was sweating and breathing heavily. Wait - it was only a dream?

He brought his hand to his forehead for a moment. He was burning up. Sweat rolled down the side of his face, and he coughed. He felt sick.

He stood up, the same horrible laugh ringing in his ears. The room swayed around him, and he felt dizzy. He took a step forward and collapsed onto the moon-lit floor. He slowly got to his feet.

"I'm going crazy..." he muttered.

He stepped quietly over to his closed door, which he opened carefully. He took another step out and then his legs buckled under him. He let out a cry as he hit the wooden floor.

He looked up to see his dad rushing forward. In the next moment, he was outside, feeling terribly hot; and then things seemed to just go black for a while. He suddenly found himself in a bed with a rather old man looking at him, reading a book and stirring something in a cup.

The man lifted up the cup, "Ah, you're awake! Drink this, please." he commanded. Link couldn't move. The man sighed and put the cup to Link's lips, letting the nasty, hot, and brown liquid trickle down his throat. He coughed, and then blacked out again.

"Link, wake up!" he heard someone whisper gently in his hear. He opened his eyes to see the village elder standing over him. So he was the one who had given the medicine.

Link groaned and sat up. He rubbed his eyes." Worst fever I've ever seen." the man said flatly.

Link fell back onto the bed. He then realized he was burning up, with his nose stuffed up. A headache hit him simultaneously. "Sir... am I insane?" Link asked meekly.

"The man shrugged," I can't tell." he mumbled, "You moan and yell in your sleep, and it seems to be getting worse. Your temperature is increasing, and all the village boys are laughing. You seem to be under a lot of stress."

Link sighed as the man mentioned the boys. He knew they had been making fun of him, yet the mere mention made him sick and angry. Wait; wasn't he sad instead of mad? He felt he never wanted to be friends with the boys ever again, yet he was scared for them after the dream.

"Link," the man continued, "you are so sick, I believe you could burn straight into a crisp."

Link's eyes widened as he looked up at the man," What does this mean?" The man sat up and grabbed a small mirror from a nearby table. He put it in front of Link's face, allowing him to see himself. And what a sight it was!

His face was flushed and sweat trickled down the side of his face. His bright blond hair was a more dirty blonde, and his eyes, were red. He shivered. It didn't seem like him.

"I believe you're heating up, so that its changing your eye color, hair color, and well, yes. The deal is boy, you've got some sort of deadly sickness in you."

He was sick. Badly.

* * *

**a/n: **I haven't updated in a long time. This is an old chapter that I posted on another site. Wow. I need to write some _real _chapters once I get everyone up to date. All these chapters are short!


	5. Sick: Part 2

_**Sick: Part 2**_  
_The deepest cut_

After days of taking the nasty brown liquid, staying in bed, being fed nothing but soup, Link was finally allowed to go outside and get some sun.

Because of his condition, though, he had to have someone accompany him. Unfortunately, the elder picked one of the boys. The oldest.

Link groaned as he carefully went down the stairs and limped to the door. He grabbed the doorknob and opened it. He took a step out and held his arm in front of his eyes as rays of sun blasted him. He let out a moan.

"Ready to go?" he heard a voice laugh.

He looked around and saw the oldest boy waving at him. He blinked and said nothing, unsure of how to respond to a person he had killed several times over in his dreams. It felt awkward being around him and remembering the supposed 'blood-shed'.

"Um, are you def? I said _are you ready to go_?"

Link nodded his head and finally managed to say," where?"

"The creek," the boy replied. He crossed his arms and tapped his right foot, waiting for a reply that came slowly.

"Uh, o...kay. I guess we can go, to the... creek." Link sat a long moment and waited.

"Well - lets go!" the boy finally blurted out. He quickly turned his back to Link and started striding to the direction of the mountains.

Link quickly snapped back into reality and sorely followed after him. He was starting to cramp up and his breath was getting shorter, although they hadn't even walked but a minute.

"S-slow down...!" Link said meekly.

Because of the tiny voice, the boy didn't hear and just kept striding forward.

"P-please just s-slow down..." Link said again.

No response.

"_Slow down, William!_" he finally managed to shout.

William quickly stopped and snapped his head back," Huh?"

Link quickly stopped, too and knelt down, trying to catch his breath, coughing in-between.

"What's wrong?" the boy said, starting to loose interest after he realized Link was only tired.

Link took a few more deep breaths and stood back up. He started to walk forward, and William went back to striding.

"You're changing," William said as they finally managed to sit on the sand by the small creek.

Link looked into his reflection and saw his skin was brown, his eyes were bloodshot and the color around his pupil was red. His hair was now brown and he looked like he could puke. The reflection scared him.

"Well," William suddenly said.

"Well, what?"

"Are you going to respond to what I said?"

Link said idle a moment before saying," Yeah, I guess I am. But I'm just really sick. Why do you care - you just are doing this for laughs," he suddenly snapped.

William shrugged," Not really. Once I realized you were only sick; I decided that I shouldn't make fun of you."

Link rolled his eyes and wondered if he should believe him or not. It seemed stupid to. But William did seem serious this time.

"I mean, I could have just not volunteered." William said after a moment of silence.

Link looked up and finally said," W-when you and the guys made fun of me... what were you saying?"

William's cheeks grew red as he replied," Well... er, we'd say you were screaming... and stuff..."

Link narrowed his eyes.

"And we said you were sort of a..."

"Yes?"

William received a huge lump in his throat which he took a minute to swallow," that you were a baby... and an... idiot."

Link looked to the water with sad eyes. His mind raced at a thousand miles per hour, trying to decide whether to believe or not.

"So, either way, I guess we should be heading back now," William said suddenly.

"Yeah, I guess we should."

"Look, sorry about making fun of you and all," William said again.

"It's okay," Link finally admitted as they neared the elders house.

"Seriously, man - you should come hang out with us again. You know, when you're feeling better?" Will suggested.

"Yeah. I should." Link said, finally smiling for the first time in almost a week.


	6. The Fire

_**The Fire**_

_

* * *

_

"Nice night for a walk." a man in kokiri soldier attire said to another.

There was no response from his fellow soldier.

"Eruestan? Did you hear me straight?" the man inquired, poking his friends shoulder.

"Shh, you idiot! Do you realize what just happened?" his partner whispered sternly.

The other man shook his head.

"The fire stopped burning!" Eruestan said later.

Both men stood staring off in the distance. A chill wind was blowing in the distance. Eruestan looked to his partner. For a long period of time, he did not speak, or move. Eruestan's partner, Anar clutched his spear more tightly.

"We have to go look! If it's true, we would be at the mercy of the forest!" Eruestan blurted out. He turned his body to the path in the woods and started walking.

Anar sighed and jogged over to his side," I wonder what we do if it really has burned out."

Eruestan didn't reply. He just kept looking down the path. Leaves and pine straw crunched under their feet as they drew nearer to the end of the path.

Suddenly, Eruestan stopped. His eyes darted left and right. He raised his spear.

"What's wrong?" Anar asked.

"Do you hear the burning?"

"No."

"Exactly." Eruestan carefully started to go on.

Anar followed close by his side, unsure of how to reply.

As they entered the clearing, they looked up at the massive tree trunk before them. Anar gasped. This half-way chopped tree always had smoke coming from the top. A fire burned within that kept the darkness of the forest away. It was not there. If one were to be flying somehow, they would see the smoke holes took the shape of a happy face. It showed that those who lived in the clearings of the forest would always be safe.

"Hey! You hear that?" Eruestan suddenly said.

Anar listened carefully. Music played in the distance. It was a lonely tune.

"Sounds like flute music." He replied.

Suddenly a small kid leaped out from the forest in strange, red clothing. He resembled a scarecrow. His skin was a deep gray and his orange eyes were glowing. He was playing a flute.

"Oh, Farore!" Eruestan moaned.

"What _is_ that thing?!" Anar cried.

"Stalchild!" Eruestan replied grimly.

Anar nearly screamed as a ray of light shot out from the kid's flute and hit Erustan.

Eruestan _did_ scream. Loudly. He fell over and rolled around on his back. He dropped the spear and screamed again. His skin started to wrinkle and his eyes began to dry out. All the color from his skin turned a pale blue, then left it a moldy white. The skin fell off him like powder, and his teeth completely disappeared. He stopped moving, and the next thing Anar knew, his friend was nothing more that and old, hollow log laying lifelessly on the ground.

He threw his spear at the kid which impaled it. The kid screamed and fell over. Anar raced into the trail in the woods and ran as quickly as possible to the village. He sprinted past houses and farms and finally reached the Kings large hut. He threw the door open and ran to the King's bedside.

"Sir! The fire's out and Eruestan was killed!"

* * *

A quick look to somewhere else that will help with the furture story.


	7. The Quest Begins

_**The Quest Begins**_

**PART 1**

**PLANT NATURE**

Link finally took that breath of fresh air he had been waiting for from a death-bed. He had passed the sickness and was ready to start over with the guys. His dad was letting him borrow his sword to show-off with. Hopefully; the guys would like him again.

"Here comes Link!" Link could hear the youngest saying to the other kids.

"Hey, guys!" Link greeted cheerfully.

One kid snickered and William gave a small wave.

"Well?" Link spoke.

"Well what?" a boy retorted.

"Guys, lets just forget the whole screaming thing! Seriously, can't you just forgive me, and can't we just move on?!" Link pleaded.

"Link... you're embarrassing me!" Link heard Will say quietly.

"Din, William! Why in Nayru's name would you say that!?" Link exclaimed.

William rolled his eyes and the youngest stepped forward," Go away, Link! No one likes you! No one ever has! You're weird, and you shouldn't even be talking to us!" he gave Link a little push.

Link couldn't believe what he had heard. His hand curled into a fist. His eyes started to water, and he struck out at the young boy.

It hit him head on, sending the kid flying into William." How 'bout that?!" Link roared.

"Okay, that's it weirdo!" William snapped.

Link couldn't even believe _William_ was saying that! He drew his dad's sword.

Wait! What was he doing?!

All Link could feel was anger and tears on his cheek. He brought the blade over his head; and brought it down on William. A scream split the air, and William fell over. Bleeding, and dead.

Link couldn't really comprehend what happened next. He only heard screams, and he could feel his arms and it brought the blade up and down.

Eventually he gained control over his anger. He dropped his blade and fell helplessly to his knees in a pool of blood. All the kids were dead.

For a little while, alls Link did was cry and moan. He banged his head up against the blood-covered ground. He could hardly believe what was happening!

No; it couldn't be happening! He was just dreaming!

Link helplessly tried to wake up. He was trying to deny the fact he had actually killed his old friends."What have I done?!" he cried.

"Everything I needed you to do." he heard a voice reply.

Wait - who was that? Link turned his tear covered face around to see the figure. He gasped in horror.

* * *

**A/N: ***Raises fist triumphantly* Alright! One more chapter update and I can get back to actually writing this thing! Thanks for all the positive comments that gave me the boost!


	8. Dark

**_Dark_**

* * *

As soon as Link turned to face the mysterious voice, he realized with horror that it had been far from a dream. It was more of a 'nightmare come true'.

Standing before him, was a pitch-black outline of himself. The outline of his father's sword in it's hand, and an outline of a shield in the copy took a step forward. Link in response, curled up, afraid to be killed.

"What a waste." the copy said. It's voice was deep; yet it seemed so far off and distant. Like a voice in Link's head. Even without visible eyes, Link could tell it was looking down at him.

"W-who are y-you?' Link asked meekly.

"Something better than you." it replied. It later added," Better; because at least this form can stand up."

Link realized how foolish he must have looked so he stood up. His eyes were wide in terror, and his legs were shaking violently. His clasp on his father's sword was so strong, his knuckles started to turn white. Nothing could begin to describe the fear and despair flowing through his body. His heart was racing.

"I have yet to strike - yet you now stand before me as a complete and utter coward." Its far off voice said mockingly.

Link could not even respond.

"What a waste." It said again.

"I-I am not a waste!" Link cried.

"Yes. You are. That is all you will ever be." It said flatly.

"No, I am no waste!" Link yelled.

"Not a waste? And I look and see the bodies of all your friends behind you. Dead. And who could have killed them I wonder?"

Link let out a roar," No!" He charged at the figure, swinging his blade madly. The figure disappeared right before Link's blade got near to making impact.

Link looked around. tears streaming down his eyes, and fear ripe in his heart. Quickly, Link looked down at his shadow, which looked darker than ever." Fa-" Link was cut off as two powerful feet sent him flying into the air. Link let go of his blade, which was sent flying several feet away. He looked up to see the copy standing like it had been when he first saw it.

"What a waste." It said again.

"Quit calling me that!" Link screamed.

"Waste... Waste... Waste..." It repeated each word.

Link felt rage building up inside."I am not!" He yelled louder than ever.

"Then prove it." the contour said.

With the blink of an eye; his father's sword was laying by his hand. Reaching out and taking hold of the hilt, Link slowly stood to his feet. He raised the sword up and spread his feet apart in a defensive stance. He heard a faint laugh and the shadow was gone. Link looked left and right. He turned around just in time to the the shadow raising it's blade up. As the shadow brought in down; Link rolled to avoid the blade.

"Weakling!" it said, a hint of rage in it's eerie voice.

Link yelled again and hacked at the figure. It disappeared again." I'll find you!" Link called out into the air.

"Ah... Determination. Makes you almost look brave!" The shadow said mockingly. It appeared before Link, swinging it's sword with swift, powerful, accuracy.

Link called out and jumped back. The tip of the blade left a long, bloody wound across Link's stomach. Link was overwhelmed by pain as he screamed in agony. His legs buckled under him and he collapsed. He let go of his sword and his hands flew onto his stomach, which was bleeding.

"What a waste."

Link was in too much pain to respond. He closed his eyes, hardly able to contain the pain. As he opened his eyes, he saw the figure raising his sword for the final blow. Link's eyes widened as he rolled away just in shadow's sword stuck far into the ground. Taking the chance, Link stood up and took His father's sword. He slashed it at the figure. The figure screamed.

It's body tore apart and it disappeared along with its sword.

Then he heard a voice. Far off and faint, just hardly audible," If you aren't a waste; then you'll go to the forest."

Would he go?

* * *

**A/N: **Woo-hoo! I've updated both sites; and I'm back to writing this story, bay-bee!

I hope everyone likes it! Again; thank you for the positive, uplifting comments.


	9. Alone

**Alone**

**

* * *

**

Link stared at the pile of bodies in disbelief. He was sprinkled with their blood and his own. Even though they had been bad to him, he still felt terrible. His heart weighed a thousand pounds. Tears traveled down his dirty cheeks, and he sniffed and sobbed. He clutched his father's sword tightly. Part of him wanted to stay here and try and forget the whole thing before he was executed, or go out into the forest like the shadow had told him to.

"Link?" he heard his father ask.

He gasped and snapped his head around, to see his father staring at him with wide eyes. He took a cautious step back.

"Link... What in the world happened...? What did you do?!" he asked in a meek, horrified voice, a voice Link had never heard him use before.

Link took a few more steps back. He was going for plan b. The forest.

"Link! Speak to me boy! Did you do this?!" he cried.

Link just turned and started to run as fast as he could towards the village's edge. As he reached the gate, he heard his father shout his name. He also could hear his father running after him.

Link unlocked the gate by un-hooking the chains and unwrapping them in the center, and swung it open. He charged out past a few trees, down an ancient flight of stairs, and out into the open.

"Link! Link, wait! Come back, you'll die out there!" he heard his father cry.

Link didn't care, he knew he would die if he stayed behind. He continued running through the over grown grass in the field as fast as he ould, just in case his father was following. Finally, after running for several minutes, he stopped to rest at a large pine tree out in the open.

He placed a hand on it for support and kept his sword arm hanging down by his side. He took a few deep breath, and turned around. The huge mountain and village at it's foot were far away, and his father was nowhere to be seen.

Link turned back to where he had been running, and took a good look around. Hills and flat land were everywhere, stretching on for miles. There was a tree or large rock hear and there, but nothing much. Mainly just open fields. Link took in one more deep breath before jogging onwards, just in case his father was planning on following again.

He knew from looking at a simple map of Hyrule once when he was a little boy, that the forest was south. But, he wasn't sure which way was south. He could not remember if death mountain was towards the east, or west. That would have helped him guess where he was quite well.

When he got tired of jogging, he slowed down to a walk. He kept his grip on the sword tight, just in case. Link had heard stories of monsters and robbers that inhabited the field. Stalfos and stalchildren, poor men who would kill a child for a small meal, kessees, large carnivorous falcons strong enough to lift a seven year old off the ground. He kept a close eye on the horizon and the ground before him, just in case.

Link remembered one story especially that his father had told him about a boy who was out planning to find a creek to go fishing in in the field, and was attacked by a swarm of falcons and eaten alive. Link shuddered and tried to flag the thought away from his mind. But it was nearly impossible.

He looked up at the sky. The sun was overhead pretty well still, so it was still a bit after noon. Link paid close attention to the sun. Judging by how it was lower in... yes! He figured out which way west was! He was heading west, and east was right behind him, so he could have to take a left to be heading south.

He stopped in his tacks and turned left and started to walk that way. From where he was, he could see no sign of a forest. He still could see the mountain pretty well, but everything else was far below the horizon. Lon Lon Village, Castle Town, Lake Town, Ordon, they were all invisible to him.

-0-

After hours of tramping through the fields, the sun was slowly lowering below the horizon. Link was growing more and more tired by the minute. A strong cramp in his side, and tired, worn legs. He could just barely see a bolder line on the southern horizon, which he hoped was the forest. Long shadows were cast across the ground by the hills and the setting usn behind them. The sky was growing darker to the east, and the sun was turning a golden-orangish color to the west. Turning the clouds red, yellow, and purple.

Chill, evening pre-fall winds were blown across the land, chilling Link to the bone. If he could just reach the forest in time!

As the sky got dark and dark as he walked, he finally broke out into a run. After a while, the horizon began to look like a wall of bushes, then a wall of large shrubs, and then he found himself standing before the woods, with just a tiny bit of sunlight left. He took a moment to catch his breath, thanking the goddesses a monster hadn't attacked him in the fields.

There was no path leading into the woods, which led Link to walk along the edge, looking for some form of trail leading through. Eventually, he found what he was looking for, right when it reached dusk; a pale blue light to the west being the remainder of the sun that once shone.

There was a sign standing before a trail leading deep into the mysterious woods, with read painting marking it.

Link squinted to see through the darkness.

_Lost Woods_

_Do not enter! Head to Ordon instead! West -_

Link sighed and past up the sign and into the woods. His eyes darted left and right as he traveled deeper and deeper into the forest, looking for signs of monsters. Hylians did not go into the thick forest much at all. They usually went to Ordon village alone, which Link thought was far more west in the woods than where he was.

But he was sure since it was an evil shadow, and it didn't say Ordon, that it would be in the wilderness.

He kept his sword raised in a defensive stance, just in case something jumped out at hi,. The trail was narrow and just faintly lit by the rising moon. Roots and thorns crossed the trail, so Link was careful with watching his step. He felt alone and helpless, looking for something he didn't even know about.

Then, after almost and hour of cautious sneaking thorugh the woods, he heard the leafs rustle off in the woods. He stopped instantly and put both hands on his sword, ready to fight. Then he heard a shout, and a few loud sounds he couldn't make out. Then he heard footsteps rushing through the woods, heading towards him!

He turned towards the noise and prepared for the worst. He cried out as a man shot out from a bush right in front of him. The main was bleeding, and looked frightened. He cried out in response when he saw Link, and staggered back and landed on his bottom. Link took a step back, staring at the man and the broken spear he held.

The man stared and him, and after a few more leaves rustling, he jumped up," Boy! What're you doing out here alone? It's da- oh never mind! Follow me and keep up! We're being chased right now!"

The man took off down the trail, and Link sprinted after him. He heard a few loud whistles as if they were coming from a flute, and things rushing through the branches somewhere in the woods not far behind them.

Link hated running after the super long walk he had that day, but the sudden fear hand sent his adrenaline pumping, making him keep running after the man at all costs.

Eventually, they emerged in a large clearing, where there was a large spear-headed fence and a tall metal gate before them. The man led him up to it and knocked.

"Open up! Open up, I'm being attacked!" he yelled.

A second later, there was a _click_, and then the gate swung open. Link followed the man in as the gate was closed behind them. He stopped a moment to catch his breath and gather his bearings. He looked up at the man.

He had dropped his broken spear, and was laying on the ground, heaving. His hair was brown and messy, and he wore a large, brown tunic, which was torn in several areas. It was supported by an old leather belt with a rusty buckle. His sandals were broken and tossed to the side, probably broke in the fight the man was in.

Small huts surrounded Link, and around them, there was that same metal fence at the edge of the woods. There were a few large trees in the little village, along with tree houses in some of them and one or two small lookout towers.

A few mean carrying spears and dressed much like Link's rescuer ran up from a rather large hut. There were seven of them. Three stooped down by the man and started to lift him up.

The other four made a square formation around Link and pointed their spears at them. The oldest spoke," What are you doing here?"

Link hesitated,"Um, I-I... Is this Ordon Village?"

"Ordon?" The man began in a mystified tone of voice," Where's Ordon?"


	10. Company

**Company**

**

* * *

**

"Ordon...? You mean... you don't know what Ordon... where am I?" Link stammered and finally asked.

"You're in the Kokiri village. A race of nothing but young kids lived here at one point. What are you doing here outsider?" he answered quickly.

"I-I, I was in my village, and a person forced me to kill my friends, and I think he ran into the forest, and I was going to kill h-"

"-Wait, you say someone _forced you to kill your friends_?!" he exclaimed in disgust.

"Yes, he wasn't really a person though, he was more like an outline of myself, and he told me he'd be in the forest; or something like that, and I was going to take revenge for my friends." he explained, his heart burning with a nasty, deep regret as he remembered all the village kids and his father.

The man looked thoughtful for a moment," Alright," he finally said," you say an outline of yourself? I think this is the cause of the fire problem."

"Fire problem?"

The man placed a hand on Link's shoulder, and motioned for him to follow. Link walked close by the man through the small village.

"Yes, the fire problem. Surely you know of the great, magical fire, right?" he continued.

"No." Link replied with a shrug.

"Hm, let's get you to talk with the king. I think a young man driven for revenge such as yourself will be the key to ending this mess."

He led Link into a large hut with smoke rising from the top. He led him into a big, circular room. A pit was in the middle with a burning fire. Standing over the flames was a large man wearing a wooden crown adorned with flowers. He wore robes of brown and red animal skins. He looked up at Link and the soldier with interest. A bed was at the end of the room, and a long, wide sword hung on the wall above that.

Link guessed he was the king.

"Aer," he began, his lips curling into a small smile," what brings you into my chambers with an... out...si...der...?!"

Aer - apparently that was his name - nodded and gave Link a little push forward. Not hard, just enough so that he'd take a few steps towards the king. He spoke up before Link could even open his mouth.

"This outsider might be the key to bringing light back to the forest. He left his home village in search of a shadow that forced him to kill his friends. He says he wants to avenge him. I think he rescued one of out men. Well, I'm fairly sure, but still, this outsider might be able to help Anar in his quest."

The king laughed and looked down at Link. He was at least two heads taller than Link, and a lot wider," Is this true outsider? Have you saved one of my men? And are you willing to help us?"

Link hesitated, processing what he'd say to the king through his head carefully; he didn't want to mess up," No, your soldier saved me. But I'm more than willing to help."

The king laughed again," Excellent! I will explain the whole situation to you at sun high. Be ready. Aer, please bring the outsider over to a hot meal, and allow him some rest!"

Aer nodded and left the room, waving his hand for Link to follow. Link bowed to the king and made haste to catch up with the Kokiri soldier.

"Am I going to end up in some fight?" he asked him when he finally got alongside the man.

"Yes, if you accept the challenge. I cannot say for sure what monsters lay in the hollowed tree now, except you better be ready for anything, boy."

Strange, had Aer gotten angrier at him? He noticed a subtle, harder tone in his voice, just barely noticeable. Maybe he was just tired, because Link was ready for sleep. He kept by the man until he came into a crummy hut, with smoke rising from it's top as well. Inside, there was a few makeshift beds, and a woman cooked over a clay stove. She looked up from stirring her soup and waved. She looked middle-aged.

"Aer? What is it?"

"This outsider is willing to fight the monsters stopping the fire for us. He needs food and rest for tomorrow." he told her in an authoritive voice.

"Yes sir!" she told him, pointing towards two of the seven beds in the room," We'll need another bed to fit your whole comapny and the outsider. But I think I have one in the shed. Give me a moment." she quit stirring her soup and walked outside. A few minutes later, she wlaked in with a small bed, and placed it by the stove.

"Here you go, boy! Lay here while I cook and rest your back. You must have traveled far to reach here!"

Link nodded politely, trying not to look too eager, because that would be rude. But inside, he was basically having a party, because he was about to get rest. He set himself down in the bed and pulled a blanket over himself, still clutching his father's sword. He tried to stay awake, but soon, he found himself asleep.

"...is staying with us for the night. Ain't we lucky!" Link awoke to hear a man saying. A few other's laughed, and there were some footsteps, a few murmers, and some racket.

"Soup'll be ready in a minute." the woman cooking told them.

Link opened his weary eyes and slowly sat up. The room, which he had fallen asleep in, was now full of soldiers. They were all talking among each other, and one would occasionally glance over at him.

"Look, Dho! He's awake!" one man said, tapping another soldier on the bed by him and pointing at Link. All eyes turned on him.

"Does the outsider have a name?" Aer asked from the corner of the room.

"Um, Link... uh, what's going on... why are all these people in here?"

A few of the soldiers laughed, but Aer did not," They are my men, my company of village guards. This is where we lodge. Welcome to the company for now, Link."

One of the men by Aer spoke up," Why's your name Link? That's an odd name..."

"Oh shut up, Mus! He's an outsider, obviously they have odd names."

Link just laid back down as they all started to talk to themselves again. He was about to drift back into his sleep, when the lady spoke up.

"Food's ready, get some before it's all gone!"


	11. Fear

**Fear**

**

* * *

**

_"Now why would you do that?" the dark outline of Link asked him." You killed all of those kids. You're a murderer. What a waste..."_

Link shot awake. His heart was pumping, his breaths were heavy and frantic, and sweat trickled down the sides of his head. Looking out of a small window in the hut, he could see it was barely dawn, the sky still a dark blue; the horizon lined with silver. The soldiers inside still slept.

Link took a moment to think over his dream. It had been terrible. He had been sitting on the cool grass in Kakariko, taking his time to enjoy the scenery.

Then, something had caught his eye. He saw himself with his father's sword drawn, attacking his friends. He heard their screams, and he saw the blood that he had spilt. He tried to look away, but he couldn't, The slaughter just went on and on, with no end in sight. He couldn't scream, he couldn't move, he could only watch as the killing repeated itself over and over.

Then the shadow appeared.

Link shuddered and stood up. The bed wasn't comfortable, so his neck felt stiff. He picked up the sword he had slept with and stared at it with regret. It was still stained with the dry blood of all the kids. A once honorable blade that had protected Hyrule years ago, had just taken innocent lives.

Something had to have taken him over when he killed them. There was no way he would do that, himself. That turned his mind back to the shadow. He tried to flag the image of that... _thing _off, but it wouldn't work. The images of the contour trying to stab him flashed in his mind, and he could almost hear it's faraway voice.

He was close to the shadow. He could just feel it's presence in the forest. The monsters, mystery, and a looming danger; all hung in the air. Though Link did not know what he was doing. How fast everything had happened. One moment, he was a normal kid, then he was a depressed outcast, and now he was here, looking for a shadow.

As that last thought, Aer sat up from his bed in the far corner of the cramped room. Link gasped in surprise, turning to face the officer.

"Awake already?" Aer asked him in a tired voice.

"Yes." Link responded, placing the sword he held into his belt.

"Good. Are you ready for what's to come?" he asked him, as if the situation was casual; normal.

"I hope so... I'm not really used to this kind of thing. And, Just asking - why can't the soldiers do it?"

Aer stood there a moment, probably thinking, and then responded slowly," Because they are too scared."

Link stood still in disbelief. Soldiers too scared to fight?! He looked straight at Aer in horror.

"Yes, I know." he said sadly, responding to Link's looks," But you have to understand, this is not just any old hollow tree. No one's been inside of it for centuries upon centuries! And it's very-" he stopped, looking around him and the snoring men. He took a few steps towards the door before turning back to Link, talking more quietly," Lets go outside to finish."

Link nodded and slipped on his dirty, brown boots and briskly followed after the man. Outside, the sun was still just barely coming up. The sky to the east was still dark. An eerie silence was over the forest. It wasn't loud like it had been that night, booming with activity. The soldiers running around, the run, the insects buzzing, crickets, birds. And now just Link and this man and the occasional owl's hoot.

Aer didn't seem to notice. He was waiting for Link by a dead tree, arms crossed over his chest. Link jogged over to him and looked ready for more listening.

"I'm here." he announced.

"Good, good... Alright, so as I said, this temple has not been entered by us in centuries. Some are even going as far as to claim not since out eternal children ancestors. But either way, the last time one of us went in, it was to investigate the mysteriously burning fire, which told us as long as it burned, we'd be safe from the monsters of the forest. The men believe that since the tree is so large, even though the top half is missing, it's an entire dungeon! But I'm not so sure."

Link nodded, taking it all in. So he was going to be the first to enter for quite some time. He looked up at the sun, It had gotten a bit higher, but that was just barely noticeable.

"Alright, and what about the fire and what I'm doing?" Link asked him.

"Oh yes, how could I forget?" he silently asked himself," Well, several weeks ago, this one soldier says while on duty, the fire stopped burning. He had the northwest wing, which meant he was closest to the fire. He and his partner went to investigate, and were attacked by a monster. The funny thing was, they were attacked while in a clearing! So that confirmed the fire was out. His partner was killed, and he barely got away. Since that night, we have improved security and built these walls to keep safe. But the monsters attack us anyway. Some have even been spotted trying to climb the walls. The man you're going to be working with - Anar - was the guard who discovered it. You two will go in and see what you can do about the monsters infesting the tree and see what you can do about the fire. You two seem like you'd both be driven by revenge."

"You with your shadow and friends problem, and him with his monster and friend problem. You and Anar are the only people willing to go in. So, are you still up to it?" he finished.

Link hesitated. The whole job seemed a lot more risky, now. Why hadn't they told him about this? Still, there was no turning back now. He had agreed to help, and he was going to help. Besides, maybe the shadow was doing all of this? There was only one way to find out, and it was through the danger.

"Alright. I'll go." Link answered, trying to sound as brave as possible.

Aer laughed," Good, good! Thank goodness you're still willing! In a few minutes, when people start waking up, I'll take you to Anar. He'll get you all set up. By sunhigh you may embark."

Link gave a feeble nod in response. What had he gotten himself into?

Aer looked up at the sun, and so did Link. It was more higher, and the land to the east was now a pale blue, and the west was now red and golden. A few birds were chirping, and a few insects started to buzz and make different noises. It seemed as when their conversation ended, life began.

Then, coming from the hut behind them, their came a few voices and a few different noises. A soldier came out the door, still putting on his helmet, and ran around to the back of the house, returning a second later with a few logs of firewood. There was a few more voices, and then a light flickered on.

Aer smiled," Looks like the men and our housekeeper are up. Lets go inside, shall we?" he gestured, walking towards the worn, wooden building.

Link hurried after him and through the door. The soldiers were getting dressed and talking nosily amongst each other. The same old woman from the night before was cooking something over the oven. She looked over her shoulder as they entered.

"Welcome back, you two!"

Aer nodded and went back to his bed, starting to equip himself with his normal attire. A few men looked up at Link for a moment to study him, but it wasn't for long each time.

"Food's almost ready you guys!" the woman told them all cheerfully.

Link found the cheerfulness almost fake. No _way _someone could be that happy with each sentence.

~0~

"Hi, you must be... Link." a man greeted, standing up and straightening his back. He was dressed in the regular brown tunic, sandals, wooden shield, sword, shiny bronze helmet. He had a large sack strapped to his back.

Link nodded politely," Yes, I am. Aer sent me for a person named Anar. Are you him?"

"I am." he replied, taking a step towards him.

"Oh.. okay. My bad. Um, aren't we supposed to, um..." Link stammered, not sure what he was supposed to say.

"We go into the tree and fight. I have some things for you, but before you can receive them, you must answer my question."

"And what would that be?" Link asked curiously.

"Tell me, outsider, are you ready to face the unknown dangers beyond this point?" he questioned in a very serious tone of voice, motioning towards the gate he stood before," Monsters, curses, magic, you name it. I do not even have a clue what horrors await. To enter, you must be ready and willing. No one's forcing anything on you, kid."

The word 'kid' made Link feel so small and insignificant, making him realize most boys weren't supposed to be doing things like these. He hesistated especially long this time, really unsure. What if he died and was turned into a monster that ended up killing more people? What if he was cursed by some-

No! What was he thinking? He said he was going to help. He wasn't going to let these people down and make himself look like a fool. Two, he needed to do this. That shadow was near, and he could almost _feel_ it. He had to go on. He had to do it for his now dead friends. Despite how mean and completely rude they were to him, no one deserved that. No one.

"I'll go." Link finally stated.

"Good. I think you're ready, outsider. Now, take these."

He took off the large sack and handed it to Link. Link took it, somewhat eager to see was was inside.

He untied the knot at the top and reached in. He felt abound and grabbed something hard and wooden. He yanked it out to reveal a shield, just perfect for someone his size! It looked old, but just by feeling it, Link knew it could hold up to a lot. It was marked with a strange, curly red emblem on the front. Like a swirl with a triangle protruding from it's side.

He thanked the man and slid his arm into the straps on the back. He reached back in and grabbed something that felt round and a lot like leather. He pulled out a sword, which was, once again, perfect for someone his age. It was a bit more than two feet long, and looked razor sharp. It was very light-weight. A red gem was positioned at the base of the wooden and leather hilt. The sword even had a case that hooked to his back! Link smiled, looking up at Anar.

"Thank you very much. But what about my fathers sword?"

"You may keep it, but these monsters are powerful. You stand a better chance using a weapon built for someone your age, blessed by the forest. You'll do better in a fight, now." he explained quickly.

"Alright... good! So, when do we go?" Link asked eagerly, yet afraid.

Anar looked up. The sun wasn't yet right over head, but it was getting closer by the minute.

"I say now would be a good time." he replied, turning to the gate. He took a stone from his pocket and placed it in what looked light an over-sized lock. He muttered a few words in a language Link had never heard before, and the gates swung open. Link and the Kokiri soldier took one last look at the village behind them. Soldiers and people who had previously been doing their chores and wandering had now stopped at the sound of the gate opening. They turned to see the two setting off down the dark path.

Anar muttered a single, foreign word under his breath and the gate swung shut behind them. The two walked in silence down the winding path through the woods.

"A bit further up, we will find the tree. Monsters will come, I promise. Are you ready?" he warned.

Link nodded, his heart starting to pump faster. He felt a bit jumpy and afraid. He clutched his new Kokiri sword tightly, trying to mentally prepare himself. With each step, he felt more uneasy. Part of it was fear, the other was anticipation, and the other was that odd feeling the shadow left behind. His eyes scanned everywhere along the path.

Then, they left the path and found it. It was a massive half of a tree, at least five stories high. The clearing around it was cold, and the grass looked brown and dead. A strange log was laying off near the trail, with smelly mushrooms growing from them. Link tried to wave away the terrible odor coming from the mushrooms.

"That's what's left of my friend who was killed by a Skullkid. Be careful, we are in grave danger." he warned.

Link shuddered, looking away from the log, and turning his attention back to the tree. The bad feeling was strong as... Din, Link didn't even know what! There was an opening at the base of the tree.

"Well, lets go..." Link said in a meek voice, taking a few more small steps towards the tree.

_Bam! _A heavy blast sent Link flying back to the base of the trail. His stomach, where the blast had landed, now burned like crazy. Link was frightened more than ever.

He was dazed, the world swayed and blurred around him. He was about to loose consciousness when a few shouts scared him out of his daze. He sat up and rubbed his head, looking over to see Anar, sword drawn, ferociously attacking what looked to be like a giant, walking sprout. It was colored an ugly brown, and had a large snout. Leaves stuck up from it's head. It was a few heads taller than Anar, who was slicing it over and over, jumping to the side when it fired weird-looking, large nuts down at him.

Link rubbed his sore stomach before running at the monster and swinging at it. If it wasn't for some of his father's training, he would have just chipped some wood off of it's body. But he did a more powerful swing, which left a long mark across it's side. It looked down at him and shot out a nut from it's sprout.

He barely had time to roll out of the way as it did so. The nut exploded right where he had been. Link looked back up at the monster, who was ready to fire at him again. Just as the monster was going to do so, Anar charged forward and stabbed it swiftly two times.

The monster let out a strange bellow and turned it's attention to Anar, preparing to fire another nut.

Link took the small window of opportunity to stab the beast... in the snout!

The thing roared and shook about, shaking so hard that Link had his sword were sent flying towards the base of the tree. Link hit the ground hard and moaned in pain. He looked up to see the thing fall over, twitch, and then stop moving. He took a few heavy breaths along with Anar before standing up. His legs were shaking under him, and so were his arms.

"W-what was that?" Link voiced.

"A deku scrub. They usually are a lot smaller." he replied normally, as if the fight had not occured.

Then, tearing from the ground, more large scrubs appeared and started to shoot nuts at the two fighters. Link ducked, rolled, and dodged, trying to avoid the flying projectiles at all costs.

He looked over to see Anar charge at one of the beasts, deflecting nuts with his sword as he ran. He roared and jumped up, landing his blade of the top of the scrub. The scrub screamed and fell over before dying. Anar looked over to meet Link's gaze.

"Get into the tree! I'll hold the scrubs off for you!" he ordered.

Link nodded and raised his sword up, mimicking Anar as a nut was shot at him, trying to deflect it. It hit the sword with an amazing force and combusted. Link was thrown back nearer to the entrance.

Taking no more time, he stood back to his feet and charged into the darkness ahead.


	12. Pain

**Pain**

**

* * *

**

Link paused to take in his surroundings. The opening in the tree had shut behind him, leaving him in _total _darkness. He could not tell where he was, and without a single light source, his eyes just couldn't adjust. He took a few careful steps forward, not wanting to hit anything.

And then a lantern flickered on. It's fire was green, and in gave the small room a green aura. The room was wooden, like the tree, and the ground was moist dirt. There were three doors, one at the end of the room, and two off to the sides. Link turned his attention to the lantern, which was being held by a freakish, grotesque, scarecrow-kid-looking-monster.

The thing was dressed all in red, and it's clothes were old and worn. It was grinning madly, and it's eyes glowed yellow.

"Hey! Do you want to play?" It asked politely.

Link hesitated, clutching his sword tightly," Um, I'm not sure... I sorta am fighting right now."

"Oh..." the child moaned sadly, looking down. It's eyes turned orange, and the lantern turned into a normal fire. It looked back up and frowned," Wait, never mind. You're an outsider! I can tell! How dare you enter the forest! I don't want to play! You're probably fighting people of the forest. I'll kill you!" as it talked, it's voice grew deep, and it's lantern turned red, and so did it's eyes. It held its hand up, collecting a ball of energy.

It threw the ball at Link, which soared across the room towards him. Link screamed and jumped out of the way as it blew up in a magnificent and powerful burst of color right where he had been standing.

Link charged forward with his sword raised high, ready to bring it down on the creature.

As he reached it and swung, the creature disappeared into a pile of leaves. Link heard a faint laugh as the room was left again in darkness.

"Good luck." he heard the now child-like voice taunt.

Link took a moment to catch his breath, and think back over the structure of the room. He turned, walking towards the door he thought was at the end. Feeling around the dark wall for a moment he finally found the door. He felt the metal handle and tried to pull. The door didn't budge. He tried to push, yet nothing happened. He heard something jingle as he did, and then he realized it was locked!

"Oh no!" he cried.

He shook his head and started to take small steps around the room, looking for one of the doors on the side. Feeling around on the walls for a little while like the last door, he finally found one. He pushed it, and this time, it opened.

Link smiled, having accomplished something. He stepped inside the room, which wasn't completely dark like the first. It had some invisible light source, making the room look as if though several candles were burning. Two wooden statues stood in the center of the room, holding wooden spears. Between them was a small chest. The statues were not carved into anything special. They were just faceless figures in the shape of a hyrlian.

Link smiled, thinking it might be the key to the door at the front. He started to approach the chest eagerly. He was ready to just get all this over with. A few _minutes_ had been enough for him!

As he reached the chest, he leaned over and tried to pull it. The second his fingers latched on, he heard a few clicking noises. They only lasted a second, but they sounded close by.

He looked up and looked stright ahead. Nothing was the-

_Smash! _A heavy wooden foot slammed into him, sending him back flying. Link cried out in pain and fright as he flew through the air and hit the ground. He moaned and shook his head, getting himself back together. His heart was beating rapidly from the sudden attack. He stood up as quickly as possible to see the two wooden soldiers walking towards him, spears at the ready!

Link raised his sheild up and tenced up his sword arm, ready for a fight.

As the wooden figures reached him, they looked down. They were very silent, and did nothing. For a moment, Link wondered if they were even going to attack.

Then it happened.

They pointed their spears and thrust them at Link in one short and accurate move, as swift as an arrow. Link jumped to the side, the spears going through the air. The figures slowly turned their head, and then started to run towards him as normal as any hylian would. They raised their spears up and started to try and stab him.

Link dodged each attempt with great speed, his fear pushing him to go faster with each move. As both reared back for more, Link took the chance and swung for the nearest as hard as he possibly could have.

_Crash! _The figure fell back as it's chest broke into pieces, splinters flying everywhere. The arms and head fell to the floor, and the remaining body was forced back onto the ground.

There was a quiet _thud! _as a spear hit Link's shield, making him stumble over to his side. He snapped his head around to see the other wooden warrior poising for another attack.

Link roared and hurried over to it, swinging his sword horizontally. It hit the thing's side and cut in about two inches. The figure lost it's balance and fell over onto the other side.

Link moved himself into position at it's neck and brought his sword down, cutting off the thing's head.

It never got back up.

Link caught his breath and took a few minutes to look around the room, just to make sure there were no more monsters.

Seeing that there was not, he made his way back to the chest and opened it. Inside, wrapped up in rotting cloth, was a shining silver key. He put it in his work-pant's pocket and slowly walked back into the main room. The light from the chest room made the main room dim, which allowed Link to see that both of the other doors were locked. They were chained, with large, metal locks in the center of each one. The locks almost looked like decorations.

Link hurried over to the door he had first tried and tried to put the key in. He tried and tried, but it never would fit!

Link snarled and let out a loud cry. He ran over to the other door. Hopefully this one would be unlocked!

Fortunatley, it was! Link plugged the key in and turned. There was a quiet _click _as the lock came undone. He pulled it free, allowing the chains to fall to the ground. He pulled the door open, walking into another lit room.

This time, the light wasn't emitted by an unseen force, but by a very bright torch in the middle of the room, lighting up the area better than the last light source had. In front of the torch was another chest, which Link knew automatically to be a key.

He kept his sword and shield raised as he made his way towards the key chest. His eyes scanned the room as he stood over it, making sure there was nothing else that would attack him.

He leaned down to the chest and touched it lightly and quickly reared back, making sure he hadn't activated anything.

He had.

A large fireball was shot from the torch, which flew over his head and landed in front of the door. Link cried out, realizing the tree might get burned into a crisp. Instead, it didn't. The fire ball slowly levitated up a few feet into the air. Appearing in thin air, a wooden warrior appeared. Half of it was swallowed up in the fire ball, making it look like wooden legs with fire for the rest of the body. Link could just barely make out the burning figure from behind the flames.

The figure pointed a blacked and flaming finger at him. Link blinked, unsure of how to respond.

"What is-" he was cut off as a small fire ball was shot towards him.

He yelped and ducked as the fire ball hit the chest and exploded. Nothing was left burning, but the small shock wave had forced Link onto his stomach. A few splinters from the wood floor found themselves in his left arm.

Link groaned and flinched, forcing himself up just in time to roll to the side as another fire ball was launched at him. He stood up and jumped far to the side as another one came and impacted where he had been laying. He looked up to see the burning warrior pointing it's finger at him again.

Link ducked and ran forward. He felt the heat as the fire ball passed over his back. He stood up straight and swung low. The blow from his sword forced the thing's leg off. A few sparks flew off in random directions, burning Link wherever they landed on him for a few breif moments each.

The figure hopped and staggered, and then it got it's balance again. It raised his arms back out, ready to launch another another attack.

Link raised his sword up and charged forward as fast as his feet would carry him, bringing his sword down on the figure's arm. It split open, and the front half fell to the floor. As it did, it stopped burning. All's that was left was ash on the ground. Link looked back up at the monsters and swung at it, cutting off it's head. Another pile of ashes and charred wooden landed on the floor. The fire stopped burning, and the rest of the body was reduced to the same, messy black ash, which all fell to the floor in a heap. The legs to a few aimless steps, and then fell down into the burnt upper body, with no more motion.

"Can this get any worse?" Link asked himself aloud, looking around, just in case more were to show up.

None ever did, so he made his way to the chest and opened it, taking out a key. Deciding he'd need light, he took the torch too.

He tramped over to the next door and unlocked it. Pulling it open, he entered another very dark room. It was a circular hallway, two paths going off it different directions just to meet at the end. In front of him was another locked door.

"Oh, great!" he cried, starting to walk down the hall tiredly. The room was quiet, the only thing he heard was his breath. Finally, he found another door. It was not locked, so he eagerly opened it.

It was a small, square room in the center, with a chest at the end. Link placed the torch in a convienient holder by the entrance, and took a few more steps inside.

As he reached the chest, he gave it a small kick with his boots to activate the next obstacle. In response, from the dark shadows in the room. strange bats squeaked and flapped their wings, shooting out into the room, filling it almost instantly. The door shut, trapping Link in with the swarms of bats.

As one landing on his forearm and bit his shoulder with a powerful force, making him scream, he realized what these bat-like creatures were.

Kesses. The man-killing monsters that usually resided in deep forest or caves. Many people who were atccked by swarms were litterally _eaten_. Link cried out as another bit his knee, tearing off a bit of flesh. Link swung through the air, killing at least ten. The others squeaked and flew faster around him. A few more bit him, sending him into greater pain.

Link screamed and closed his eyes, swing his sword all around him. As he did, he could feel the blade making impact with the Kesses, killing one after another.

Soon, the room was silent, and he opened his eyes to see a mass of dead Kesses about him. THe door was open again, and he was sure the danger was gone, now.

He cuaght his breath and sat down. Bite marks covered his legs, arms, and there were small tears in his shirt. This was madness. He could not do this. He stood up, ready to leave the dungeon, when the thought hit him. The exit was sealed!

Link moaned in frustraition. There was no possible way he could take anymore of this! The Kesse marks stung like crazy, and his splinters were starting to bother him. Who knew what else lay ahead? Would he be hit by a fire ball, stabbed by a spear, beheaded, _what_?!

Reluctantly, he opened the chest and pulled out the key. He grabbed the torch and found his way back to the locked door. He plugged the key in and unlocked it before proceeding into the main room.

It was the center of the tree, and it's cieling was as normal as the others, but it was expansive! In the middle, it looked like piles of black sand were formed up in certain paterns. In fact, it almost seemed as if...

...A smiley face. It was taking the shape of a normal, smiley face! Two large mounds to the left and right on one half of the room, and a large happy smile on the bottom half.

Link took a few more steps towards the powder. It emitted a strange, smokey odor.

It only took Link a second to figure out what it was - gunpowder! The stuff used in celebrations in Hyrule for fireworks!

Link leaned over and lit the stuff. It flared, and then, in a matter of seconds, the smile was on fire. Link hurried over and lit the two eyes. As he did so, the room was lit up a great amount. It was_ bright_! Link rubbed his eyes and blinked them rapidly, getting used to the extreme light. A lot of black smoke was rising from the flames.

"Oh Nayru..." Link whispered to himself," I've gotta get out! This is going to choke me!"

As if in response, a large amount of smoke found it's way into his lungs, making him cough loudly.

What had he been thinking? This was all crazy! This was never going to work out! Why hadn't he just give up before entering this goddess-forsaken tree?!

He looked around frantically before spotting an old ladder at the end of the circular room. He sprinted over to it and climbed to the top and forced open the hatch that was above it. He pulled himself up into the next room and slammed the hatch shut. He had left his torch at the bottom, but it did not matter. Torches burned along the walls in this small room he found himself in.

A wooden statue stood in the center, just like the other two had rooms before. But this time, it held a large, thick, wooden sword.

Link took a step towards it, sword raised, and then it snapped to life.

It's limbs creaked as they first move, but then after a few swings of it's sword, shakes of it's head, and jogging-in-place, it was silent, just like the others. It ran over to Link, bringing it's sword down on him.

Link screamed and stepped to the side. The figure turned back to him and swung again, this time hitting Link's side. It sent him flying into the wall.

Link cried out in pain, his hands letting go of his equippment and flying onto his side. It was probably brusied a great amount, and it hurt like crazy.

Link laid back and moaned. The figure was walking toward him, but he could not get back up to fight. It just hurt to much...


	13. The Feeling

**Feeling**

**

* * *

**

The wound hurt. Alot.

Link squirmed and moaned, holding onto his side for dear life. Something burned inside of him, and the outside felt raw. He had not felt anything impact him with such force in his life. Even the deku nut was lesser.

Link opened one eye and looked up, to see the wooden warrior standing over him, sword raised. Link shut his eyes, accepting the inevitable.

_Death._

As he thought the word, his eyes opened, and something clicked within him. Something overcame him and he moved.

In less than a second, he was standing, with sword and shield at the ready. The monster had already swung, and it's sword banged against the wooden floor. How had Link moved so fast and so suddenly?

In another instant, he was upon the figure, bringing his sword down with a tremendous force. He let out a battle cry, just so he could get into the swing more.

His sword made contact, slicing through the thing's neck like it was air. The head fell to the ground.

But the creature was not done for. It got in a defensive stance as if though it had not lost it's head. Link could just imagine the faceless circle facing him.

Then the creature attacked. It swung swiftly, and Link was almost certain he could not dodge it.

But he did. Out of instinct and skill he never knew he had, he moved to the side, the wooden blade missing by several inches. Link cried out and swung his sword, cutting the warrior across the chest. It left a long, splintery slash. The thing looked over and him, and brought its sword up and swung horizontally.

Link parried the attack with a lightening quick move, and swung again, slicing through it's non-sword-arm, cutting it off.

The creature looked as if it were screaming, and it fell back up against the wall. Link charged forward, stabbing the thing through the chest. Splinters and chips of wood flew in all directions.

It squirmed, and then stopped moving. Link yanked his sword out of the wooden body, and staggered back and onto his rump. He let go of his weapons and stared at his hands. How had he fought like that? He was so smooth and quick. He fought like he had been trained his whole life. But he hadn't been.

Shaking his head, he stood up and gathered his things. He took another long look at his fallen foe.

Then, there was a flash of bright light at the end of the room. Snapping his head around, he saw a doot appear.

He hurried over to it and opened it with ease, coming out into a large, circular room. Torches burned along the walls, lighting up the room. There were marks on the floor, showing the shape of a smiley face. A bit of smoke came up from the cracks. At that moment, his purpose for the different floors came together.

He lit the fire in the previous floor, and now he was opening some sort of large hatches, to allow the fire and smoke through! He smiled, before turning his attention to the end f the room. The circular shape was cut off at the bottom by a flat wall with a door. Link hurried over to the door, and placed his hands on the handle carefully.

"Stop!"

Link let go of the handle, taking a few steps back in surprise. He turned around and searched the room with his eyes. No one else was there.

"Hey, turn around, idiot! I'm talking to you!" he heard a young voice order.

Link turned his head to see only the door.

"W-who's there...?" he asked, growing more and more weary.

"I am." replied the unknown voice.

"Where are you?" he asked, becoming just a bit more comfortable.

"Right in front of you, idiot." the reply came harshly.

Link raised his sword up, but only saw the door. He raised a brow and tapped it a few times.

"Stop touching me!" it roared.

"Oh... you're the door?" Link asked in surprise.

"Yes I'm the door! What did you think?" it cried.

"Well... it's just I never-"

"-Never what?" it demanded.

"I've never heard a door talk..." Link said truthfully, scratching his head, unsure of what to do about the current situation. It was not everyday a door started to speak to you!

"Oh, okay. Well, I assume you want to get by me, right?" it asked.

"Um, sure..." Link answered, taking a small step forward.

"Well too bad. I won't let you open me unless you kill the spirit in me." It snapped rudley.

"Oh, alright. I'll go with killing the spirit." he told it.

"Good. I'll summon a spell and launch it out of me. You'll have to kill it very quickly, as it will enter me as soon as the spell wears off, which won't take long." It explained quickly.

Link nodded and tightened the grip on his sword.

Then, the door started to glow yellow. There was a loud bang, and a small projectile was shot out from nowhere, landing in the middle of the room. Link called out and fell onto his back.

He got up in time to see a Skullkid grinning evilly at him. Link pointed his sword at the mystic child," Lets just get this over with..." He wailed.

"Okay, heehee! You're not much fun!" it said in a half sad, half playful voice. It twisted it's neck far to the left, beyond the natural breaking limit. He grinned even wider when he saw Link's look of utter disgust.

"I'll play you a song!" the kid offered suddenly, snapping his head back into place and drawing a crude wooden flute from his belt. He blew a few notes into it, which made the instrument start to glow.

"I-"

Link was cut off as a beam of light was shot out from the flute towards him! He yelled and jumped out of the way just in time.

The kid frowned in response and blew in a few different notes that sounded sadder. The flute glowed, and then a nut, much like the dekuscrubs had shot out like a bullet.

The nut hit Link in the stomach, right where the other had landed. He was forced back into the door with a tremendous force. The pained boy moaned and fell to the floor, his hands latching onto his stinging stomach. He squinted his eyes and took a few deep breaths, trying to bear the pain.

Eventually, he managed to force himself back up and into a defensive position, right as another deku nut was fired at him. He raised his shield up as quickly as possible and blocked the attack. He grinned tauntingly at the Skullkid. The kid launched a few more, but Link blocked every single one with the Kokiri Shield. The Skullkid looked annoyed.

"Hm, deku nuts don't work much with you!" the kid mused, looking down at his flute, thinking hard to make up another attack.

"Oh! Oh! I'll fight like you!" he cried, blowing a long tune into his flute. There was a burst of light, and then his was holding a sword with a flute-handle.

Link ran over to the kid and swung, finally on the offensive. The kid giggled and blocked the attack with ease.

"How did you block so easily?" Link asked.

"I'm good at games!" came the reply as he swung for Link's head.

Link ducked and thrust his sword forward, piercing the Skullkid's stomach. The undead child screamed and fell back, squirming on the floor, his flute turning into dust.

"H-how... how..." he mumbled something else, and then died, disappearing in flames.

Link smiled weakly, rubbing his sore stomach. He plodded over to the door, his job done, and knocked on it," I killed the spirit."

He waited and waited for a reply, but none ever came.

"Hello?" he prodded.

No answer.

"Oh well." he muttered with a small sigh, pulling open the door and walking into the bottom room.

The floor was covered in white tile, which was strange to Link, everything else being wood and dirt. At the center of the room, there was a large crank with ropes and chains wrapped in it. Behind that, there was another ladder. But blocking the way was another wooden warrior carrying a sword, much like the other one. It sparked into life a few seconds after Link's arrival, swinging it's sword a few times as a deadly warning, before lunging.

Link jumped to the side, barely avoiding the attack he knew would have been deadly, even with a wooden sword.

He brought his shield up in time to block a quick, hard, downward slash from his foe. Link could feel the impact through the shield, but at least it did not hit him head on.

He saw the soldier swinging again, so he brought his sword up and parried the attack. The soldier attacked again, but Link was ready that time as well, deflecting the attack as if it were easy; thought truth the be told, it wasn't.

The soldier lunged again, and Link was caught off guard. He raised his shield up as a last minute move and closed his eyes. He felt the blow to his shield, and he fell back onto his bottom, shield still raised.

Then, as the monster was ready to attack again, the same odd feeling clicked inside of Link like an 'on switch'. He jumped up, and with a terrific battle cry, swung his sword so hard, it broke his enemy's sword! But the feeling continued to overtake him, allowing him to swing his sword harder than he thought he could ever do, and cut the creature in half.

It's wooden body fell into two and landed across the floor. Link took a few breaths, the odd feeling going away.

He looked back up at the crank. Maybe this would open the floor to allow the fire through! He strode over to it and studied it. Maybe if he turned it left... He did, and it worked. It started to turn, and he had to put his muscle into it to keep it turning. He could feel the weight decrease after awhile, and then, he could turn it no more. He made sure it was in place, and hurried back out into the main room. There was a large amount of smoke that had shot out from the openings when they appears, and the room was lit up even more, and a lot more warmer. Link could see flames come up from the holes occasionally.


	14. Skull

**Skull**

**

* * *

**

Link left the room and climbed up the ladder and entered through a massive door.

The door closed behind Link, leaving him in a massive, circular room. He could tell he was almost at the top of the massive half-tree. He kept his sword raised, ready for anything. Smoke rose up from the hole below, slowly filling the room more and more. Link feared he would suffocate in this tree if he didn't find the final holes. He let out a small cough as some of the mystical black smoke filled his lungs. The room was growing more hazy by the minute, but he could not see any hole, doors, or signs of either. He was trapped.

He took a few feeble steps forward, and looked ahead," Is anyone here?"

"Teehee, yes! I would ask to play, but I can see you are an outsider to the forest. I don't like that." a small child's voice replied," Well, I know what you're doing. I'm good at figuring out things. I can plainly see you're trying to set the fire back again. The final holes are right above your head, but I want let you reach them too easily and force my forest friends to go back into the thick forest of no return. But, I only think it's fair, that since you've traveled so far and played hard, that I give you a chance before you choke on the air that the fire emits. I'll let you play one game with me, that I know I'll win. It'll be a game of tag, and you try to tag me, by killing me! ...If you can!" it explained, it's words dying into an insane laughter.

Link shivered and listened to the laughter for a moment. A Skullkid fell from no where and twisted it's head in an odd angle. IT held a pale, blue lamp. It was just laughing away, not fleeing form Link's presence.

More smoke filled Link's lungs, making him cough, and making his eyes water. The air was becoming more wamrer and dry.

Then something strange caught Link's attention in the Skull kid's laughter. Had it gotten deeper? The pale blue lantern started to turn yellow a second after Link's discovery, and the laugh became deeper. The lamp turned orange, and then an angry red. THe Skullkid's laugh was now very deep, like a deep-voiced, large man. It scared Link.

"I see that you're scared," it said in a booming voice," then you don't belong in this fight, but it's too late!" he laughed again, and disappeared, leaving the room pitch black.

Link yelped in surprise and fell back on his bottom. He coughed as he took in another breath of hot smoke. He pushed himself up, and pointed his sword out into the darkness, his heart thumping madly.

"Still scared? How about we start this game now!" the kid said from the darkness. It's voice sounded louder, deeper, and more threatening." Are you going to tag me now?"

"I-" Link was cut off as a massive Skullkid face appeared, glaring at him evilly.

"Come and try, you dirty outsider!" It taunted.

Link cried out and ran forward, swinging his sword, leaving a mark across it's chin. But the thing was so huge, the mark almost looked small.

The creature laughed and ran into him, sending him flying back into the wall with a tremendous force.

Link groaned and fell to the ground, his back now aching. Why was this so hard? Why was this monster in particular so large? Link grew angrier at the thought and stood back up, pointing his sword at the beast.

"I may be an outsider, but I can try, and I can win!" Link told it in a determined voice.

"Whatever, fool!" the thing retorted.

Link gave a loud battle cry like earlier and lunged at it, planning to stab it deeply. There was a loud laugh, and the next thing Link knew, he was up against the wall again.

"Ugh, I hate this..." Link muttered, slowly regaining his footing, raising his sword up.

"Ha, you're too weak. In fact, I find this too boring. How 'bout I make some fight matches?" he mused.

Link raised a brow," What are you saying?"

"I'll show you!" the Skullhead said, his glare turning into a grin. He opened his mouth, and several wooden soldiers with swords marched out, looking ready to kill. Link frowned, tensing his body up. More kept coming out. At the end, there were at least thirty.

"Soldiers one, two, three, and four, get him!" the head cried.

The four warriors charged at Link, swing their swords like crazy. Link jumped out of the way, dodging the lethal attacks. Then he was hit from behind as a fifth soldier joined the din.

He screamed and flew forward, hitting the ground and rolling a few feet. His back was on fire, probably something was broke. He grabbed hold and closed his eyes, curling up, trying to bear the pain. He could hear the soldiers coming in for the final blow. It was useless.

Then, like it had before, the feeling over-took him. The odd sort of feeling, like someone had grabbed his brain and started to control it. It was not like when the shadow made him kill his friends. That feeling was full of pure hatred and it was cruel. This feeling seemed almost calm. Brave and in charge, like the upcoming fight was going to be a piece of cake.

He stood up, pushing past his pain, and looked at the oncoming wooden men. He pointed his sword at them, and attacked.

He lunged forward, reaching his foes in an instant, and swung, slicing one's head off. He kicked the body, sending it into another warrior. He blocked several attacks coming at him in all directions, and ducked as one swung for his head. He swung again and cut through one's leg, sending it stumbling back onto his bottom.

The next few minutes were full of shattering wood and flying splinters. Link hacked through enemy after enemy, keeping other swords at bay with his shield the whole while. Eventually, he had defeated them all.

"So, you killed them all. But don't worry, there's more where that came from! After all, you can never have enough friends!" the head joked, his voice seeming almost lighter.

Link frowned as three times as many soldiers marched out, their swords raised in a formal fashion. But they all had shields! Link pointed his sword at the nearest and swung vertically as hard as he good. He hit the shield, but it did not break. Instead, it only left a little mark.

Link snarled and blocked another attack with his shield from another warrior. They were starting to surround him!

He turned his gaze to one in particular, who had it's sword raised up, and shield down to the side.

Link cried out and jumped at it, swinging and leaving a large slash across it's chest. The attack caught the warrior off balance, and Link was quick to remove it's head with a quick upward swing.

The head hit the floor and rolled across it, tripping a soldier who was running in to join the fight.

Link saw one swinging from the corner of his eye, so he brought his sword up, taking in the force of the blow through the wooden protector. He brought his sword up, deflecting another attack. Soon, swords were swinging all around him. He blocked and swung, but to no avail. There were just too many of them.

Then one hit him, sending him back into the wall.

Link yelled in pain, it hitting him in the chest. He groaned and pulled his shirt down to see a bloodied bruise. He touched it and filched, the raw skin stinging.

He coerced himself to stand, and raise his sword up, only to see the crowd of foes had gathered around him.

He caught his breath, his muscles growing stiff from all the action. He had to kill the Skullkid. Or, Skullhead. Either way, he could not keep this up.

He jumped into the crowd, swinging his sword, making impact with several, but killing only fewer. He sprinted forward, ducking and doging, jumping out of the way from wooden blades, running straight towards the eerie light let off by the thing's large, round eyes.

He broke free from the crowd and made it up to the monster," That's it, I'm finishing this!" he exclaimed, swinging his sword, cutting deeply by the other slash.

The head laughed and attempted to ram him into the wall like he had done earlier. But Link had expected it from previous experience, and jumped several feet back. He ran forward again, swinging his sword like a mad-man, cutting and stabbing, yelling at the top of his lungs.

He jumped and ran, avoiding every attack the head tried. By the time he had tired out, the bottom of the head was full of little holes and long, deep cuts. A weird, brown blood leaked from it's wounds.

Link breathed heavily, his muscles even more stiff. He looked over toward the door, expecting to see several wooden men, but they were all gone. He turned to face the head again, his chest rising and falling.

"I guess I underestimated you. That kinda hurt." It told him honestly, it's voice seeming even less monster-like." So, I guess I can let you by. Since you've reached the end, I don't think the title 'outsider' is necessary. You fight really good."

By that time, the feeling had worn off, leaving Link in his usual state-of-mind. He coughed, his lungs filling up with more smoke, rising up from the cracks around the hatches,"Alright, how do I open the holes below me?" he asked weakly.

"I will open them for you!" he offered, giving a small laugh before disappearing. In the same instant, the coverings over the holes vanished, letting a huge cloud of smoke rise up, and light to fill the room.

Link spotted the ladder at the end, and ran towards it, coughing all the way.


	15. Encounter

At the moment Link threw open the hatch at the top, smoke blasted out into the fresh air. He took a deep breath, and realized how much he needed it. It was already sunset. He could hardly believe so much time had passed in the tree. He was sore, and desperatley wanted a bath. He looked at the sword he had been allowed to use. He was hoping to keep it, so he wouldn't have to use the same sword he killed his friend with.

"You did pretty good."

Link froze. It was that deep, familiar, far-off voice. He turned his head slowly and gasped. The shadow was standing there, like a silouhette before the setting sun. Or really, he was a sillouhette all the time.

"Wha-what do you want?" Link asked, part terrified.

"I want to see if you're good enough to fight me." it replied flatly," But you still aren't. You aren't a complete waste, but neither are you not one. I need another test of strength from you. You have already proven your courage."

"No! Explain all of this to me now!" Link demanded in a loud tone.

"If you complete this next task, I will reveal a bit about myself." it offered.

Link thought for a long moment. He had nearly died in the tree. But mystical forest monsters? Come on! What could be worse than that? Besides killing your only friends, even if they were jerks.

"Alright. What is it you want me to do?" he asked.

"I want you to go to Death Mountain."

Link stood bewildered and horrified. Not only was Death Mountain the single most dangerous place in Hyrule, nay the world; it was directly over Kakiriko Village. In fact, Kakiriko was at the very base of the mountain. The only way up was to get through Kakiriko, and travel up the trail. Then, if you survived that treacherous journey, you would arrive at the Goron village. They had been pretty hostile to Hyrlians as of late.

"What?! No wa- Oh, alright. Fine. But I'm not going to be happy about it."

"Good." And with that, the shadow vanished, leaving Link on top of the tree.

He had done his duty, and looking down over the forest, it did not seem as creepy anymore. He looked down at the entrance to see the breathless Anar looking up at him, his sword covered in purple, red, and green substances.

"Anar!" he called down.

Anar looked up. His nose was bleeding and a bit misloacted. Link shuddered, figuring he must have been hit by a deku nut," What took you?" he asked.

"A lot of things." Link replied, giving a weak smile.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry for the wait. Listen, I know the chapter's short, but I'm going to be working on the next part, and developing the plot, so give me some more time. I haven't been working on the story much at all, but this chapter is a sign that I haven't given up on it.


	16. Sneak

**Sneak**

**PART 2**

**FIRE**

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**  
**

Link had jogged his way out of the forest, and was once again at the foot of Hyrule Field. Venturing over a hill, the air seemed more open, and less dense. It felt almost new. He began walking in the direction of his home. He shuddered at the thought of returning _there_. Mere few days ago, he had spilt the blood of his friends, all because they were mean to him. No, all because of that copy of himself. Everything was happening real fast, like a dream. He wasn't used to any of this.

He pulled out his father's sword and looked at the blade for a long moment as he walked. He felt a sinking feeling of regret as he put it away. The blood was on his hands, and his was following the orders of some strange creature taking the outline of him, all because he feared it would kill him. And he had nothing else to do. At least the missions seemed to be helping people. That made him feel a slight bit better.

He looked up at the noon sky and sighed. How was he going to manage to sneak through the village, get up the mountain, and help the Gorons? (He hoped he would be helping them this mission.) He had been given the Kokiri Sword and Shield, so he felt a bit better with new weapons, as well. At least he could return the sword when he returned to Kakiriko.

---

Night

Kakiriko Village

---

Link snuck up the stairs and to the closed town gates. He peered past the metal bars, and sighed with relief once he saw no one was outside. He climbed over the gate like he used to do as a child, and jogged down behind a tree, peering around a small hut to see if anyone was in the Southeast part of the town. No one was, so he hurried over in the direction of his house in the North part of town. It was cold outside, but he was excited, and barely noticed. He kept low and ducked under windows so he wouldn't get caught.

He looked up at the moon for a brief moment. It was full, and brighter than usual. It lit his way in a silvery light. He finally arrived at his house and climbed the ladder. No lights were on. He gave yet another sigh of releif and drew his father's sword. He planted it neatly in front of the door, and hurried past the house and up another ladder, climbing a small ledge behind the house. He walked briskly as he moved up a crude dirt path, leading higher up a rocky hill. A bit higher, and he would be able to see Hyrule Field past the large rock walls the village was surrounded by.

He climbed a smaller ladder he had helped his father make a year ago. This one was more sturdy than the others, and fairly high. It went up a large cliff. He climbed it to the top like he used to, and turned. About a mile of Hyrule field was exposed under the moon. Looked more downwards, he could see the whole village. Only one house seemed to have a few candles lit, so it was fairly late. Most of everyone was already asleep.

He sprinted up a steep gravel path, ignoring stealth. He was very high up. Even if someone managed to hear him they couldn't catch him in time.

He went up a flight of ancient stairs and stood before a tall, concrete was with a large wooden door at the front. Link knew his dad kept the keys to the door up on top of the lookout tower, right next to the wall, under a heavy wooden chair. He climbed the tower and retrieved the key, and climbed back down. He carefully unlocked the door, and pushed with all his might to get it open a crack. He slithered through the opening and shut the door.

Engraved into the side of the mountain, was a straight, steep path leading right up to the top. He began to climb up the mountain.

There was little to no grass up here, just dirt and rocks. He had never been on this trail before, so he kept his sword drawn, and his shield on his back. He jumped everytime he thought he heard something, afraid of being caught.

Looking down, he could see past the concrete wall, past the village, and out into the field...

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**A/N: **Well, I hope you like this small chapter. I haven't written any sort of story in a while, so sorry if my writing seems sloppy or rushed. This chapter kind of was rushed, but that was because I haven't updated in so long, I was afraid people were going to start giving up on it. I was, for a while.

Anyways, cheers to more chapters! Reviews are also awesome, and I hope to get some!

-Sam.


	17. Goron Village

**Goron Village**

* * *

Link continued up the long path until dawn. He was tired, mentally and physically. He felt he might fall asleep, or die of exhaustion from the long walk. Luckily the path was clearly paved, so it wasn't ridiculously hard. He was sweating a lot, and his clothes were now quite damp. His boots were worn out even more. He groaned, wiping his forehead free of sweat. There was no sign of water anywhere, and the few trees were dried up and petrified.

This mountain was big. One could only realize this if they actually attempted climbing it. It was just huge. Link was wondering how even Din could make such a thing, so towering and big, inspiring when looked upon, and dreaded when climbed.

It was only active in recent years, and the oldest eruption took place about fifty years ago, and it mostly affected the mountain range far to the east, away from Hyrule - no mans' land. Link was still worried about even a small eruption. The smallest ones on a volcano this size could kill just about anyone nearby. That was what Link was mostly worried about.

He eventually came to the clearing somewhere around nine o' clock, when the sun was getting higher in the now-blue sky. About eighty feet away, was a massive metal wall. Two Gorons stood on top, looking down. One noticed him, and ordered him to stop.

"We don't allow Hylians!" the other snapped.

"Why not?" Link called back.

"Because, we have much distaste regarding your king!" he retorted.

"And that makes me guilty?" Link called back up.

"Yes. He represents you!" he cried.

"So I don't like you because of your leader!"

Link regretted every bit of that last sentence. The next the he knew, the ground shook hard, and he was surrounded by two vicious Gorons, who's fists were clenched.

Link drew his sword and shield, realizing all too-quickly that this would not end well. He would have to run.

And run is exactly what he did. He put away his weapons and charged towards the wall. They tried to chase, but were too massive and bulky to move quickly. Link had the advantage as he climbed a wide steel ladder to the top. He was even higher now. He started to run up the steep slope, hoping not to encounter another Goron. The trail was hard to run up, and Link was already very tired. He knew the Gorons were powerful. It would end bad, and he knew it.

_Looks like it was all for nothing! The shadow tricked me..._

He came to a part on the trail where two metal fortresses were on either side up him except the front and back. Many Goron guards stood at the top. They all spotted Link and started to shout. Link marveled at the size of the structures. The Gorons had a mine in the volcano, and they had an endless supply of metal and rock. That's about what they lived on, too. And that's what they fought with, and Link stood no chance.

Link just ran faster, hoping to get whatever his mission was over with. He soon found that the Gorons were throwing boulders at him. He did everything in his willpower to dodge them all, but each time they landed the ground shook hard. He was barely able to maintain any sort of speed, stumbling around like he was. He continued to fight upwards, sure he was growing near. He fell forward with a cry after an unusually large boulder landed behind him. He began to stand, but another landed by him, knocking him over a few feet. He pushed himself up and shot forward.

He saw an explosion up ahead, and knew there was more trouble coming his way. He pressed onwards through a trail carved in between two rock walls, knowing there were many Gorons chasing after him, and would kill him if he stopped then.

After climbing a small rock wall, he found that there was a ten foot long drop, full of flames, now, and many Gorons on the other side. Link cursed silently and ran, jumping over the gap. He could feel the immense heat as he passed over.

When he landed, he was knocked out by a waiting Goron.

---

**Goron Headquarters**

---

Link's first thought was that he had died. A second later, he realized he was actually alive, by the pain in his head area. He felt a cold stone ground beneath him, and a near-by heat source, most likely flames or candles. He groaned and sat up, opening his eyes.

His vision was blurry and distorted, but half a minute later it adjusted. He was in the center of a circular room, with many Gorons surrounding him. There were torches around him, and a fireplace at one end of the room. Across from the fireplace was a massive metal door. There were windows partly obscured by many of the Gorons along the walls. Link saw it was night.

They had banners, weapons, bones, and fossils hooked to the cieling and walls. It would have looked festive, if these people hadn't tried to kill him earlier.

"Ah, the Hylian awakes, doesn't he?" an older, gruff voice declared.

Link saw, in front of the fire, and old Goron, holding a staff with a ruby embedded at the top which gleamed in the flickering light of the torches.

"What a fool, coming here and upsetting the guards. It would seem he was sent by that cursed Hyrule, coming to assassinate _me_!" he accused in a surprisingly loud voice.

The Gorons roared and cheered in anger.

"We will punish him, drive him into the ground, make him a useless slave, because, after all - that's what they all should be!"

The crowd of Gorons crammed into the room went absolutely crazy.

"I didn't come to kill you..." Link said in a weak voice.

"Liar!" several cried.

"I was sent here, to see if you needed help... in any way..." he tried to explain.

The Gorons laughed.

"This fool thinks he can _bribe_ his way out! It just goes to show what disgusting creatures these Hylians are! They never helped us, they just used _our_ metal supply, making us work extra hard! And now they send _help_?! _What stuck-up idiots_!" he literally screamed, sending the crowd screaming too.

"I'm serious... I want to help... Isn't there anything I can do?"

The Goron elder frowned, and beckoned another old Goron over. They talked it over for a minute quietly before he turned, snickering.

"_Alright then_. You can help. You can go into out temple of worship, and kill the traitor or was sent by the King to terrorize us."

Link nodded slowly.

"And best of luck," _he began sarcastically," _Because no Goron has completed this task, and or returned from the temple for any reason, for that matter."

Link stood slowly, his head spinning. They had left him his weapons. The crowd began to disperse.

* * *

**A/N: **I hope everyone likes this chapter! Until next time -

Sam


	18. Smoldering Mines

**Smoldering Mines**

**

* * *

**

Link was given a tunic woven from thick red cloth, which they claimed would help him on his mission. On the chest was a symbol oddly resembling a paw; the Goron emblem. There was an odd tenting covering his face, extending down from a red pointed hat. His legs were also covered by the odd tenting. It felt cool inside, almost cold.

He had now found himself venturing through a cave, in the direction of the Goron Mines. The single greatest source of metal in all of Hyrule, which had been cut off as of late.

He kept his sword at his side, unsure if there was going to be monsters. And as he walked, he felt tempuratures rise. He now realized the suit would protect him from the heat.

Minutes later, he came into a bright opening. The space was a big cavern, with a very bright source of light taking up half of the room. It became very hot inside. Link took a few tentative steps forward and gasped, seeing a bubbling pond of lava, fire shooting up in random directions, threatening to burn him alive. There was a solid metal bridge crossing over the lava, and Link sprinted across it, afraid to get burnt somehow.

There was lava everywhere in the next room, falling from waterfalls, shooting up like geysers, and lakes of it. He avoided it at all costs, sheathing his sword, completely forgetting about monsters. He crossed metal bridges and climbed ladders, jumped over brooks of the molten substance, and dodged shooting fire. It was very dangerous, but he managed to cross through the next few rooms unhurt.

The machinery throughout was impressive as much as the lava. Magnets and huge claws, and automatic lines of pickaxes, and oh-so much more. He was beginning to understand why this place used to be so popular. It had all the best equipment for gathering metals and precious stones to be taken back to black-smith's and jewerly shops in Hyrule.

Finally, Link arrived at a mine cart, facing a dark and long tunnel. There were several more doors as well, but Link had a hunch the mine cart would get him to the traitor's layer first. He climbed in and pulled a little lever, sending the cart flying through the darkness. Link cried out in surprise.

The cart flew through the darkness, over small hills and down steep cliffs. Link held on with all of his might, nearly being thrown out on several occasions. Finally it came to an abrupt end, sending him flying into the wall.

He landed with a thud and groaned, feeling the need to puke, although he did not. He stood up on shaking legs and looked ahead to see another door. He passed through an came out into another lava-filled room.

There were several large slugs composed of the lava crawling towards him slowly. He found no need to pay attention to them, so he merely cautiously strolled by them with one hand rested gently on his sheathed sword.

He screamed as he felt a burning sensation shoot through the tenting over his legs. He jumped and rolled over, looking at his red and burnt leg. He turned to see the slugs breathing gusts of fire at him.

He groaned and stood up, drawing his sword and slicing one in half. Apparently they were made of some kind of magic, because instead of the lava burning through his sword, he sliced it clean in half. He turned his attention to the others and dispathed them one by one, make sure not to get burnt, although it was hard with his hot ankle.

Eventually all of them had died, and he turned his attention back to his wounded leg. Part was swollen, and it was seeping fluid. The entire thing was hideous, and it burned so badly, for a fleeting moment he thought of turning back.

_You can't turn back. You killed your friends and you know it. You deserve this, you know. _said a far-off voice in his head. He looked around, but saw no shadow. He moaned and stood up slowly, his ankle killing him. He had to limp through the rest of the room, which proved to be hard with his burnt leg, but he managed to pull through just to come out into another lava-filled room, and this time, instead of having to dodge lava, it was just a straight path to the door. Easy, albeit the fact there were at least twenty of those wretched fire-slugs crawling towards him, spitting out fire.

He cried out and swung at one, killing it and knocking it into the lava. He stabbed another, and cut one directly in half. He hacked and slashed and jumped and rolled, avoiding their flames and killing them. After a short, but deadly struggle, he had managed to kill all of them, so it was in to the next room.

He was in a small square space with a switch on the wall. He pressed it, seeing no other way forward. The metal floor lurched beneath him, lowering itself. Link had heard of these 'elevators' but never imagined he'd actually ride one! The shaft stopped, revealing a heavy metal door. The boy opened it and passed into a large room, with lava falling from the sky into different puddles. The temperature was way up. Link found it hard to breath.

At the end of the room was a massive stone door. Huge statues and boulders were in front of it, keeping it sealed shut.

Guarding said door was only more fire slugs. With a warlike howl, Link took them all on with his sword, swinging it around, killing most. He was sure to dodge their breath of fire, not wanting to be burnt like his ankle had been.

He stabbed one and flung it into the crowd of others, confusing them long enough for him to take out half with mighty blows from his weapon. A few of the remaining retreated into the lava, so he quickly killed the rest, and turned his full attention to the door.

"Damn, how am I getting through this?" he mused, making a feeble attempt at pushing a boulder aside. He found a smaller statue and began to push and push with all of his strength. He managed to move it out of the way, but the door was still mostly covered with the obstacles. Link tried to move another statue, but it was proving impossible. He groaned in annoyance. So this was the end of the line. All that for nothing. He sighed and decided to head back. He had killed all of the fire slugs, or so he hoped, so it wasn't like coming back would be a problem. He was hoping the Goron elder had some form of way to remove the stone blocking the door.

"You've gotta be kidding..." he mumbled as he left. The elevator didn't go up when he pulled the lever, "Great! I'm stuck"

"Yes you are." a far-off voice agreed.

"No..." Link said in disbelief, turning to see the shadow, sword drawn. "Let the elevator work! What are you doing here?!"

"I was the messanger that made the Gorons so angry. The Goron traitor heard you coming, and he is most angry. Yet amused that they'd send a weakling like yourself."

"Leave now! You are really pissing me off! You forced me to kill my friends, and you have made my father probably hate me! You're putting me through hell - leave me alone!"

"Can't." it said simply.

"Die!" Link roared, drawing his sword and swinging it.

The shadow vanished. Link's blade bounced off the ground. A sudden sharp pain shot down his back. He cried out and rolled over. The shadow had gotten behind him and had cut his back.

"You're pathetic."

The distressed boy let out a roar in fury and stabbed at the thing. He vanished. Remembering last time, he spun quicklyy and swung. His blade hit the shadow. It fell back.

"Better than last time... Alright, you may access that elevator. But be warned, the mines will be much worse when you get back."

Link spat at his feet and left.

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**A/N: **Not the best update, but, at least it is something. I'm trying hard, but I have other stories and other things to do. By the time the fire temple is complete this story will really start to go somewhere. In the mean time enjoy.


	19. A Voice in Onyx

**A/N: **Whoa! An update! Well, no excuses really. Football, track, finals, vacation, a pet's death (R.I.P. Spot ): ), and more. I mean, really. Once I get started on something else, sometimes I forget about updating my stories. So, leave reviews as always. I put a lot of though and effort into this chapter, and I'd like to know what you all think.

Like I promised, after this chapter, this story is going to get a lot better. So, even if it takes like friggin' months, be on the lookout for the next chapter. Cause, I haven't given up. On ANY of my stories. I just have so many of them, it'll take awhile between updates. But I'm trying

-Sam

* * *

**A Voice in Onyx**

After finally escaping the mines, Link found himself face to face with an upset elder.

"What is the meaning of this young Hylian?" he snapped, "I guess it was too hard and you came to-"

"No!" Link said quickly, cutting him off, "Look, I came to the temple entrance… but it was blocked off by huge statues. I couldn't move any of them! I came to ask if there was anything I could use…" Link asked.

The elder thought this over for a long time. The guards all glared at Link as he waited uncomfortably. Time seemed to drag on for forever. Then, the elder spoke:

"Alright… It seems you are out of luck, because the special bracelet we had for a Hylian like you has been melted… to prevent a Hylian - like you - from using it. Although… I could give you some muscles…" he said.

"What do you mean?" Link asked him.

"Well, I figure since you made it to the temple entrance, I could lend you some help…"

"We have one week to train you, Hylian, so be ready for little sleep, and lots of work," the tall, powerful Goron said to Link in a booming voice.

"Okay," Link said.

"Basically, it is simple. Do you see that rock over there?" he asked, pointing to a large rock about as big as Link.

Link nodded.

"Pick it up, and walk back to me." the Goron instructed.

"Wha-"

"Do it!"

Link turned to the rock, and ran over to it. Bending down, he managed to slip his fingers into position to lift it. He tugged with all of his might, but hardly leaned it forward. He let it go, and fell back, panting.

"Don't give up! Lift it NOW!" The Goron roared, waving his fists in the air dramatically.

Link grabbed the huge rock again, and began to tug and heave with every ounce of strength he possessed. He managed to get further than last time, but he did not quit. He kept working at it. He had it an inch in the air, two inches, three inches…

"WORK!"

…six inches, seven, eight, a foot….

"Don't quit!"

…two feet…

Link managed to use his knees to hold some wait, and he started to shamble over to the Goron, his muscles straining and burning. He felt like some travelers he had seen enter his village on occasion, who had ridden their horse so much that their legs were all spread out and bent all of the time.

Link grunted as he got halfway to the Goron, trying hard not to let the rock drop. He yelled as he came up on the last few steps, and let the rock go. It hit the ground with a tremendous force, shaking the whole ground. The exhausted boy fell back, spent from his hard work.

"Rest one more minute human, because that was the easy part of our training!"

Link spent the next few days running up and down mountain passes, climbing up and down rock walls, lifting more and more rocks that got bigger and bigger. He ran with rocks tied to him, climbed with rocks to him, and rested very little all the while.

By the time his training was over, Link was already several times stronger. But tired. So tired, that he slept his last three hours of free time in deep sleep, not a light nap.

He woke up, and climbed back up into the elder's chamber. His nap had given him some strength, but he could still feel his muscles straining as he climbed back up to the chamber. He was nervous about what would await in the temple. The traitor no doubt. But why did the mysterious Goron betray his people? The elder blamed the Hylians, but Link still wasn't so sure.

A Goron is a very proud creature. Link's father had taught him that at an early age. They practically worshipped their elder, second the three goddesses. So why would this one just turn just because of what the 'Hylians' said to it? Link would soon find out.

"There. I gave you a week. Now you must go back in and remove those blasted stones… and hurry, my patience is failing," he snapped at Link the second the Hylian walked through the entrance.

Link passed the elder without a word, and with a deep breath, entered the mines once again.

When Link arrived back at the gathering of statues at the temple entrance, he felt much more confident. Digging in, he managed to move one aside with his new strength. He took on the second, which took more time to move than the first. By the fifth statue, Link felt like it was training all over again. He managed to move them all to the side eventually.

He opened the heavy stone door, and entered the temple.

He was in a long hallway, with massive pillars that stretched all the way to a cave-like ceiling several stories above him. At the very end, was an altar. Link jogged rather slowly to the altar, and saw several jagged pebbles on it.

"One of my brothers died there," a voice said, echoing throughout the chamber, making Link jump.

"Of course, his death was no accident. I… killed him. Yes, and the others too. Although, I think the altar should have some blood on it, too… so it that way, you could help me out… I know why you're here, child. Too bad you won't be here in the flesh much longer. Heh…" the voice said in a strange, mad voice. It sounded like the voice of a person who had lost their mind.

Link turned slowly, to see a large, once-proud Goron staring at him hungrily. The door Link had come through was now shut and locked.

Link drew his sword and shield, ready to put up a fight. The Goron started to laugh.

"Heehee! The boy has a since of humor!" he said laughing, "…I'm made of rock." he said seriously, gaining his composure.

Link sheathed his sword, realizing how stupid that was. He kept his shield at the ready, though.

"Well… attack me!" the Goron snapped.

The Hylian stared at him unsurely. Was this a trap?

"NOW!"

Deciding to just go with it, Link charged forward with a terrific battle cry, ready to ram the fiend with his shield. Just as he was about fifteen yards from the Goron, the ground lurched, making his legs buckle underneath him. The ground was still shaking as Link managed to stand up. When he regained his composure, the shaking had stopped, and Link gasped.

They were now on a circle of ground, looking like an arena. They were now very close to the ceiling. Link looked down, to see the altar far, far below him. If he jumped, there would be no chance of living.

He turned back to the Goron, who was laughing hysterically.

Getting angry at this one's nonchalant move, Link strapped his shield to his back, staring at the Goron all the while. He dashed forward, slamming into the beast with his shoulder. The boy was sent sprawling, his shoulder in pain. But, to his pleasant surprise, he saw the Goron had been knocked over, too.

He got to his feet, and came at the Goron again, who was more prepared this time. Sticking out a stiff, muscular arm, he smirked at the charging Link. Before Link could stop himself, he hit the Goron's palm, falling flat on his back.

He couldn't get up, the wind being knocked out of him. He gasped for air, and inched backwards, trying to recover fast enough. He managed to stand, just to get shoved back down by the waiting Goron.

"It's like bullying a child!" he said hysterically.

Link got to his feet quicker this time, and ducked when the Goron tried to push him back down. As the traitor started to fall forward, Link threw all of his weight into him, wrapping him up and tackling him, The entire 'arena' shook with the Goron's falling force.

"Ack! You are getting smart, little one!" said the fallen one, slowly standing back up.

Link stood his ground in a defensive stance, preparing himself for the Goron's next move. The Goron lunged at him, and grabbed him up in mid-jump. Link was carried to the edge of the pillar they fought on. The boy struggled furiously, but to no avail. Even though his arms were free, and his muscles stronger, he couldn't take on a Goron like this. He was screwed.

"Thanks for helping me with the blood!" he said, laughing.

Just as Link felt him letting go, he grabbed the Goron's muscular forearm, holding on even after the traitor had let go.

"What the-"

Link pulled downwards with all of his strength. The surprised Goron didn't even resist as he was thrown over Link's shoulder. He fell helplessly to the ground, where he landed with a huge _crash!_

Link grabbed onto the edge, and pulled himself back up. Once he was safe, he started to catch his breath. He had beaten the Gor-

Just then, the ground shook, and Link fell forward. The Goron was back, but this time angrier.

"Okay… this 'game' is over. You've got yourself a fight, kid!" he roared.

Link stood. In the next instant, he found himself on the ground, skidding backwards. He wasn't sure what had happened. One moment he was on both feet, and the next he felt like he had been hit by a sledge hammer. The whole right side of his head felt like it was on fire.

Link coerced himself to stand, looking up just as the Goron was throwing another powerful punch. He just managed to duck as the fist sailed over his head, dangerously close. In his squatting position, Link kicked off, slamming into the Goron's knees and wrapping them up with his arms. He successfully tackled the huge enemy again.

Both Link and the Goron stood up at the same time, and the Goron threw a lightning fast punch at Link's stomach. The boy just managed to roll to the side. The fist missed him by possibly an inch.

Before he could unleash another tackle, the Goron lashed out with his rock-solid foot. Link was hanging off the edge with a broken nose before his brain could decipher what had happened. The Goron was leaning over, glaring at him hatefully.

"I figure you've put up enough fight to know my name, Hylian. My name is Dorango. I had another name, but was given the current one for killing over a hundred Dodongos. Sorry, kid, but I've been through worse fights than this." he said nonchalantly, raising his foot to stomp down on Link's clinging hand.

Grabbing the edge with his other hand, Link got ready. As the Goron brought his foot down, Link dug into the side and pushed off with everything he had. The foot landed right after he jumped into the air. Dorango, caught off guard, started to stumble backwards. Link slammed into him, pancaking Dorango on the ground.

Link was on his feet in a crouching stance, ready for the worst. The Goron slowly stood. The two charged at each other simultaneously, locking hands. It was going to be a straight-up battle of strength, and will. No tricks. One would either fall off and die, or shove the other over the edge.

Both started to push, and Link found himself loosing very quickly. He had done a lot of work in his village, and saved the Lost Woods, and had been trained by a Goron. But he was still out-matched. He dug in with his feet, trying to slow the Goron, who was hardly struggling.

Link grunted as he gave a powerful shove, receiving no result at all. He continued to be pushed, closer and closer to the edge. His muscles were burning, every inch of him straining just to keep on the platform. His teeth were clenched; sweat was getting everywhere, including his eyes.

"Fall, little one!" Dorango roared. How could such a tiny thing be putting up such a fight?

As they fought on, Link noticed something. He wasn't being pushed back anymore. They were both pushing each other, but neither one was giving any ground up. Now came the will. Link could tell Dorango was becoming frustrated, pushing harder with every second. His eyes were wild.

Link kept his ground, his breathing becoming strained, like someone's hand had seized his lungs and were slowly crushing them. He kept pushing though. He couldn't quit. He would sooner die trying than to give up and be pushed off of the platform.

Every bit of Link screamed at him to stop, to give up, to admit defeat. But he would have none of it. He kept battling. That was when he started noticing that he had gained an inch. This gave him the hope to keep pushing against the massive Goron. His arms hurt the most. He would have to end this quickly. Only if it was him winning, though.

Another inch. Two inches. Five. A foot. The two realized that Link was winning. Link, who wasn't even tall enough to reach halfway past the Goron's rock abdomen, was winning the battle of strength. They were now in the middle, and the Goron was now straining as well. Neither moved again.

And then, just like that, Dorango started to get pushed again. Harder, this time. In less than half of a minute, the Goron was on the edge, struggling weakly, as if his determination was draining. With one final heave, Link sent him flying over the edge. The Goron crash landed, and Link heard something clatter away. But he saw nothing from high up.

The platform lowered, and Link saw the Goron had hit his head hard, and had been knocked out. There were several cracks on the top of his head.

But what of the clattering Link had heard? It was like light metal hitting the stone floor, not a hefty Goron. Link scanned the ground carefully. He spotted something glinting over by a pillar's base.

Jogging over and bending down, he saw a bracelet. It was a strange floral design, made from genuine silver. At the top, there was an unusual dark gem, like onyx or something of the sort. Link reached down, and touched it.

_Kill._

Link jumped back, looking around for who had spoken. No one was present.

"Hello?" he called out into the empty chamber.

No response.

He reached down again, and this time, picked up the bracelet.

_Kill the Gorons. Hylians sent you. Kill them. Kill. Gorons are evil. You wish to separate from them. Kill them. Fight back. Destroy the elder. Hylians are where your loyalties lie._

Link flailed his arms, yelling for the voice to stop. It consumed him, It was yelling over his voice now, driving him mad.

_Don't resis_

Link, in his frenzy, dropped the bracelet. The voices stopped at once, but now he felt like a boulder had split his skull.

Injuries from the dungeon, training, fight, and the feeling after the bracelet, all weighed down on Link. He was out before he hit the ground.


	20. Robber

******A/N: **I'm probably going to camp soon, so this was a quickie. And just because I updated it fast, does not mean effort wasn't put into this chapter. I worked very hard on it, checked it, and thought over nearly every sentence. Please R & R, and tell me if you spot any mistakes, or you can put your feed back.

-Sam

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**Robber**

When Link awoke, he was sore, tired, but better. He managed to sit up, and then after a while, stand. Dorango was still lying on the ground. He might have changed positions a little, but Link figured the Goron was dead.

The bracelet was where Link had dropped it, the mysterious black gem glistening in the candles' light. Link knew better than to pick it up. It was as if it was possessed by something.

Link knew what he was going to do. He drew his sword, and raised it aboved his head. And with a powerful slice, he smashed the gem. A whisp of purple smoke puffed out, and floated in the air for a moment. Link stared at it curiously, unsure of what he had just done.

The smoke started to swirl a bit, slowly picking up speed. It started to twirl like a miniature tornado, touching the ground lightly. It got more compact, and molded into a humanoid figure. The figure slowly began to shape up like Link, until it was a purple shadow. It got darker, and then it was a shadow, standing before him in the same pose, sword drawn.

Dark Link.

"There. I helped the Gorons," Link said simply, breaking a long silence.

"Not good enough. You still have one more errand to run, weakling," it said, sheathing it's sword.

Link didn't like how he called the long, dangerous quests 'errands'. The fact that Dark Link was manipulating him to do crap for him made him mad. But why were these missions ending with good results? Although Dark Link appeared evil, it was as if he was actually good at heart.

"Fine," Link said reluctantly, spitting at the dark one's feet, "I'll go. Where is the next mission? Let's just get this over with."

Although Link could see Dark Link's face, he could tell he was disgusted by the spit, as he looked down briefly, "Watch it! I've been nice to you so far, so watch how you act around me! Now, if I can continue...

"You're going west of this place, to Lake Hylia. It'll be a longer journey than your last ones. You must find the Zora's, and offer to help them with something. How you do this, how you solve said problem, is up to you. Either way, I'll explain everything once you're through there. You're stronger and braver than ever before, but you still are quite pathetic, and unworthy of hearing my plans in your current state. You may begin your mission, now." he explained sternly. For some reason, he seemed a bit nervous.

"Alright, fine." Link said, picking up the bracelet and walking towards the exit.

Dark Link watched him walk away and exit the temple. He saw him reach the elevator, and go out of sight. The shadow smirked, and turned away himself, going towards a dark corner, cast in shadows. He glanced back at the unconscious Dorango.

"Weak, weak, weak..."

And with that, Dark Link slowly evaporated into the shadows of the corner.

"Dorango was possessed?" the elder exclaimed.

Link was back in the elder's chamber, showing him the silver bracelet. The elder had snatched it up, and was examining it closely.

"I might be a Goron, but I've encountered magic before in my years... yes, this did have a nasty curse on it at one point... Well, Hylian, you did save Dorango. I'll send some men to check on him." the elder said thoughtfully.

"Yeah..." Link searched for something to say, "When I put the bracelet on, a voice was speaking to me. It told me to kill the Gorons, and be loyal to Hylians... It was all very strange. I think he put it on, and went crazy... in fact, I have a theory."

"Well, go ahead," the elder said, beckoning him to continue.

Link told him some about Dark Link, and about how he had come out of the gem. He also told about how he had terrorized Kakiriko Village using Link.

"I see... so perhaps... it wasn't the Hylians. It was this dark figure of which you speak..." the elder said, nodding a few times, "Okay, Hylian. From now on, your kind are welcome here. It was foolish of us to not at least consider a curse of some sort. We also treated you horribly, when you merely wanted to help. For that, I thank you. If there is anything you need from now on, we will try to help you with it. You are now one of our brothers from this day and on. In fact, take this bracelet as a momento to this day, and a sign of our friendship."

Link wasn't sure what to say, "Uh, thanks. I was just... wanting to lend a hand. Um, I have to go. The Zoras are having trouble as of late... I have to go try to do something for them." he lied. If he could, he would just forget the whole thing.

The elder nodded, "I see. You are a very good person for helping us all out like this. Go to the Zoras, and assist them like us. Good luck, young one. You are truely the most noble Hylian I've met to date! Although, if it wouldn't be too much trouble to ask one more favor..."

Link was back out into the fields again, hungry and tired. But he felt good, because he had earned the respect of all the Gorons.

Link looked down at the official-looking letter the elder had given him. It was a letter to the king himself, telling that the Gorons wanted peace.

Looking off to the distance, Link could just make out the tallest tower of the castle. He began to walk towards it. Perhaps he could get some food in Castle Town while he was there. The Goron had given him one hundred ruppees in a pouch as and extra thank-you gift, so Link had plenty.

It was day time when Link had reached Castle Town. He was quite impressed. After crossing the draw bridge which had opened at dawn, he passed a few guard barracks and armories.

Soldiers wielding spears had their faces covered by a shadow cast by their helmets. They had chest armor, knee plates, and boots that came to their knees. They did look strange, especially with the feathers jutting from their helmets.

Link then walked under an archway, and out into an open plaza. In the middle, there was a grand fountain of the sacred Triforce. Houses, apartments, and shops alike surrounded him The buildings in this area were well kept. Potted plants hung from balconies or were at window sills. Some places were engraved with several designs, giving the place a holy look. Real estate was obviously very expensive here.

A few people were out and about, mainly a few people running errands. Some merchants were in the square, building makeshift stalls or putting their wares out on display. Link looked around, and found a bakery open. He walked towards it, taking out his bag of ruppees.

The person manning the counter gave him a funny look, almost like he was wondering what the heck Link was doing here.

"Uh, can I just have a loaf of bread?" he asked, unsurely.

"That'll be seventy ruppees," the person said.

"What?" Link exclaimed.

The clerk didn't seemed surprised at all by his reaction. In fact, he was rather amused. He shook his head, and continued:

"This is one of the finest bakeries in Hyrule. Even a mere loaf is hand made from only the finest ingredients. Sorry, kid." he said, looking down at a small book in his hands.

"I guess I'll go somewhere else," Link mumbled, turning away and searching for a new place to eat.

He soon found that all places in this area of town had expensive, over-priced food. Walking down another street, he searched for a new place to eat. For several blocks, all he saw were more beautiful homes, and stores with the finest goods in the lands. Each building had a story to tell with their expensive stone structure, plants, gardens, engravings, and designs. It was as if every single building were trying to outdo the other ones.

But as he ventured further, Link soon found that Castle Town had another story to tell. One building was a tall apartment building, with a well-tended garden and several balconies. Potted plants were on every window sill, making the building look like it was splotched with bits of purple and red. It was all very beautiful. And then at once, Link noticed the change.

The very next building, seperated by one small street, looked plain and ordinary. It was made of bricks and wood, with a standard shingled roof. A few shattered windows were boarded up, and it looked strange standing there by the grand apartments. More people were milling around in this part of town, and there were twice as many market stalls.

The buildings around here all looked cheap. Small cottages, smelly hotels, ramshackle homes, and plazas full of all kinds of stalls. Smoke was rising from several chimneys, making the air here much more thick and warmer than the air in the richer side of town. A few rickety wagons were being driven around town as transportation for goods and different people.

Every stall had something different to sell. Dead fish, fruits, clothes, small time weapons, clocks, spices, and so much more. With every passing moment, Link encountered new smells, all mixed in with the ever present smell of sewage and feces that stayed in the background everywhere in the poorer district.

Clothes were strung on lines between buildings to dry. People were in the streets, begging passers by for food of any sort. Link found it strange how such a grand city could house such a place. Most buildings looked like grimy stone cubes, with windows of all sizes chiseled in very poorly. Balconies that made from random materials that were close to falling apart had been erected, protruding from the buildings, making them look unglier. The architects here certainly weren't high-grade.

Link weaved his way through the thick, moving crowds that grew as the day progressed. More smells assaulted Link's nose relentlessly. It was making him sick, since he hadn't eaten in a while. He finally found a fairly clean looking bakery with a pudgy chef, and approached it.

"How much is a loaf of bread and water?" Link asked him.

The man gave him a big grin full of rotten teeth, "Thats'll be ten ruppees..." he said.

Link dug in his bag for ten ruppees, and handed the man is money. The baker retrieved a loaf and a glass bottle of water, and handed them to Link.

Link thanked him, and started to walk away, trying hard to forget the nasty smile the man had given him. The boy finally found an empty bench, and sat down. He scarfed down the bread in no time because of his hunger. It tasted alright, although it was a little cold and stiff. But it was a lot better than nothing, and it was relatively cheap. Link had seen cheaper bakeries, but their bread was full of maggots and moldy.

After chugging his bottle of water, Link stuffed the bottle in his belt and continued on through the town. It was time for him to visit the king, if he was able.

Before he was anywhere near the rich district, Link felt someone shove him. He turned to see a skinny man with boney arms and speedy legs, running off with his wallet.

"Hey! He stole my wallet!" Link cried, chasing after the man.

A few people near by glanced at him or looked around for the pick pocket, but no one did anything. And the crowds certainly didn't part. Link found himself shoving and bumping shoulders against an endless, steady torrent of people. If that thief got away with his money, he would have no way of lasting out in the real world.

Link saw the thief turn into a small alley. He made chase, and saw the man climbing a ladder. Link dashed after him, but when the skinny man reached the roof of the building, he turned and lashed out with his foot, kicking the ladder down. Setting it back up, Link climbed up after him, desperate to regain his money.

He reached the roof, and saw the man running to the edge. Link pulled himself up, and took off in chase. The thief jumped when he reached the edge, and landed on the roof of an adjacent house with a shingled roof. Link reached the edge and jumped with all of his might, landing on the house.

The boy climbed up the sloped surface, tearing off flimsy shingles as he went. He then ran down jumping on to another building, where he saw the pick pocket running.

"Come back, thief! I'll catch you!" Link cried as he jumped from a few roof tops, gaining little by little.

The man jumped down from one roof. Link caught up, and looked down. The thief was getting up from a few sacks of fruit he had landed on. Link took a deep breath, and jumped down onto the sacks. He landed hard, and was dazed for a moment. He looked up, seeing the man take off into the crowds again.

Link managed to regain his compsure, and then he took off in chase again. He now was forced to deal with the thick crowds once more, as he shoved several people aside, ignoring their protests and strings of curses and insults. He had to catch the no good rat who stole his wallet, and he would settle for no less.

The man turned down another street, and Link followed after him, fueled by audrenaline pumping through his veins. The streets here were less crowded, giving Link the ability to dodge people, rather than shove them.

The man took another turn down a street. Link rounded the corner...

...And collided with a guard. The two went flying. Link hit the pavement hard, the wind knocked out of him for a few brief seconds. The guards armor clattered as it hit the ground.

Link started to stand.

"Hey, what's the big idea? You want to go to jail, kid?" the guard snapped, jumping to his feet, brandishing his polished spear.

"I'm after someone, no time to talk," Link said breathlessly, attempting to run past the guard. The guard jumped in front of him.

Without a moments hesitation, Link clenched a fist and punched the guard, sending the man flying into an empty stall. He regreted his decision, but had no other choice. He took off running once more, and emerged in another busy street. He glanced all around, but could not see the thief anywhere.

"No!" Link shouted in desperation, drawing a few curious eyes. How could he have lost the thief? Now he had no-

"Hey, don't climb on my house!" an old man was shouting.

Link looked over in his direction, and saw the thief scaling a ladder to the top of a house.

"Okay, kid. You're dead,"

Link turned to see the guard, who's spear was pointed at his throat.


End file.
